And a Butterfly flaps it's wings
by Kage8787
Summary: Naruto has always felt his chakra, and learned to harness it at a young age. Because of this Naruto flourishes instead of floundering. Even with the neglect, Naruto becomes a strong intelligent child. See how these changes ripple out. genius!Naruto trans!Naruto Fem!Naruto Chakra Chains and new techniques
1. Chapter 1

Naruto Uzumaki was an unusual child, even as an infant he never cried, and in fact was a happy baby for any that cared to pay attention. Unfortunately there weren't many who cared for young Naruto. Do to the events that transpired on the day of his birth, Naruto was a Jinchuriki, and he housed the mightiest of the Biju, the Kyubi.

However it was due to this status that Naruto was such a cheerful baby. Unlike others, Naruto could always feel his chakra moving through his body. Due to the seal, and the large amount of chakra he has, Naruto could feel his energy as it circulated through his coils. It was that warmth that kept him a happy baby. Even though many didn't care for the Uzumaki, he was never abused or overly neglected at the orphanage he lived at. He just didn't receive the care he truly deserved. Now in many cases this would have caused a stunting in mental growth in a child, however this wasn't the case for young Naruto.

Maybe due the large amount of chakra stimulating his growth, but Naruto was also an intelligent and intuitive child. He learned to walk and talk at early ages, and he started to read before the age of three. Now learning to read was more out of necessity, than anything else. Because of the isolation, Naruto had to learn to entertain himself, so reading allow for mental escape. By the time he turned four, Naruto had a reading level of someone twice his age.

Now of all the books Naruto read, his favorites were about rescuing princess from castles. Naruto didn't want to be the hero though; no he wanted to be the princess rescued from isolation. Naruto with his intuitive nature had noticed how nice everyone was to both little girls, and in the books how everyone wanted to save the princess. So at the age of four Naruto's biggest goal was to become a princess, and be treated kindly.

In fact the only person who treated Naruto with true kindness was the old man who visited him at the orphanage. It was on his fourth birthday Naruto learned who the old man truly was, and gained a new goal.

"Hey Ojiisan, you came to visit me again!" Naruto shouted

"Well, I couldn't leave you alone on your birthday now could I. In fact here is a gift" said the old man as he handed over a box, "Now what would like to do on your big day!"

"Thank you! Well Ojiisan, could you take me around the village today, I never get to really go outside and explore"

"Of course Naruto, let's go for a walk around the village"

Naruto looked around in wonder at all the new sights to see, but one thing he noticed the most was the respectful looks and comments the old man kept on getting.

After a full day walking around, eating and have a fun time, they ended their walk on top of the Hokage monument.

"Hey Ojiisan, how come everyone was so nice to you today" Naruto asked.

"Well, that is because I am the Hokage, and I look after everyone in the village. They respect me, because I protect them. The duty of the Hokage is to be a pillar of strength for the village. Everyone in this village is my precious person, and I keep them safe. That is the reason", the Hokage said.

"How did you become Hokage"

"Well, Naruto, I was a strong ninja. To be Hokage, one has to be a strong, but it is more than that. A Hokage is loved, because they protect the village. There are plenty of strong ninja, but to be loved and respected is something different." Explained the Hokage

"hmmmm"

"Naruto, do you have a dream?"

"A dream?" Naruto looked down, and thought about it. "Well promise not to laugh, but I always wanted to be a princess. Everyone loves and protects princesses."

At this the Hokage lowered his head in sadness, " _already he feels the pressure of his burden"_ thought the Hokage

Then Naruto looked up with determination, "But I have a new dream, maybe I can't be rescued like the princesses in my books, but I could rescue others. I could become the Hokage. No, I will become the Hokage, and no just a Hokage, the strongest and most loved!" Naruto exclaimed

The Hokage looked up with pride, _"Minato, you would be proud of how Naruto is growing."_ He thought.

Naruto looked over, "Hey Ojiisan, how do you become a ninja?"

"Well, first you have to go the ninja academy, and learn about chakra, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Then if you learn all you can, you can graduate, and then you will become a genin." He explained

"What is chakra, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu?"

"Well, chakra is the energy of the body and mind combined. It moves through your chakra coils, and it the energy used for ninja techniques like ninjutsu and genjutsu. Ninjutsu is the physical representation of chakra, whether in a fireball, or a copy of yourself, and genjutsu is use of illusions." The Hokage explained.

"hmmm, for as long as I can remember I have felt this warmth, this energy inside me. It constantly flows through me. Is that chakra?" Naruto asked

Eyes widening, the Hokage looked over at Naruto, "That is impressive, most need to have their chakra awakened inside them, it sounds like yours is already awake."

"Yatta! It looks like I am already on my way, now what I do with my chakra?"

"Well, normally I would say wait for the academy, but there are a few techniques you can use to help you control your chakra. However the first technique is to stick a leaf to part of your body with chakra, once you can do that you can make it float or spin. The more leaves you can control the better your chakra control is. That is just the beginning too! Once you can control your chakra, the world opens up. Ninja can walk up walls, walk on water, and control the elements. There is so many things possible with chakra!" The Hokage explained.

"Wow, I can't wait to try that as soon as I get back to the orphanage. I am going to be a great ninja!" Naruto shouted.

"I truly believe that Naruto, you have unlimited potential, as long as you work hard."

The sun started to set, and so the Hokage walked Naruto back to the orphanage.

"Happy birthday Naruto, and work hard and in a few years you can enter the ninja academy"

"I will Ojiisan, and thank you for the gift again, I can't wait to unwrap it! Have a goodnight."

"Goodnight Naruto." With that the Hokage dropped off Naruto, and walked off.

Naruto eagerly ran inside the orphanage to open his gift and to try chakra control. After ripping into the gift, Naruto saw it was a book call Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Excited to receive a new book, Naruto set it aside for later reading. First he was going to learn to control his chakra.

He ran outside to grab some leaves to try leaf sticking.

His first attempt shredded the leaf, and so did the next ten. Soon he realized that too much chakra would shred the leaves. However he soon learned that too little would not allow them to stick. Eventually he got a leaf to stick.

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled, which caused the leaf to shred. Sweat dropping, Naruto realized that he needed maintain concentration, or he would lose control.

Naruto continued to practice until he could barely see, but by the time it was time to go in for the night, he could get a leaf to stay for extended periods of time.

Over the next few weeks Naruto continued to practice until not only could he maintain five leaves, he could even spin them. Though he would soon lose control if tried to move them too fast, and didn't maintain his concentration.

After a month Naruto could maintain, spin, or even float ten leaves. He soon began getting bored, and feeling like he had mastered this activity he tried to think about what to due next.

" _Ojiisan, mentioned that Ninjas could walk on walls, I wonder how they do that."_ Naruto thought

Deciding it couldn't hurt to try, he approached the wall. Determined to start off small, he decided to just try to stick his hand to the wall. After a few tries, Naruto got it down, and tried both hands at the same time.

Soon he had enough control, to pull himself up a little using his chakra to adhere himself to the wall. Understanding the trick to it, he added his feet to the mix.

After a little while, Naruto was crawling all over the walls and ceiling like some demented spider.

He then tried to walk up the wall, which he would was much harder with out his hands to support his weight.

"hmmm, maybe I am not strong enough to support my full weight. I wonder, if chakra can make ninja strong, maybe I can use it to reinforce my body."

Deciding to try this turned out to not be as easy as he thought. Going into the orphanage library to try to figure out a solution. Naruto found a basic anatomy book. Looking through it, he realized that his muscles and bones could support his weight, and that he would have to reinforce the muscles and bones in his body.

Over the next few weeks Naruto practiced flowing chakra into his muscles and bones, and using an exercise manual he found in the library, Naruto started to exercise.

After a few months of sprints, pushups, and sit-ups, and practicing flowing chakra through his body, Naruto felt he was strong enough to walk along the walls. Soon, Naruto was running around any surface he could find. Trying to make it more challenging, Naruto started to stick leaves to his skin, while wall walking.

Soon even that challenge became easy. Thinking back to that meeting with the Hokage, Naruto remembered that walking on water was another technique.

This became Naruto's next goal, and it was much harder. Practicing on the Orphanage pond and in the bath, it still took Naruto over month to get it. The main reason it took so long, was it took some time for Naruto to realize he need to constantly change his chakra flow to match the water's movement. Then he needed to learn to do that. However after he got that down, it became as easy as the rest. Then he added the leaf sticking technique to his water walking.

By spring, Naruto could run over any wall and any water surface and maintain ten leaves sticking, spinning, or floating on his body. He was also getting really good at using chakra flow in his muscles and bones too. That combined with his exercise regiment, Naruto was becoming quite the fit little boy.

The Hokage visited the Orphanage every month or so, but Naruto had decided to keep his progress a secret until he felt he had come far enough along. By April, Naruto felt he had reached the end of what he could do, so he decided to surprise the Hokage next time he saw him. That chance came on the Hokage's April visit.

"Hello Naruto how are you today?" the Hokage asked

"I am great Ojiisan! I want to show you my progress." Naruto exclaimed as he dragged the Hokage out to the pond.

"Oh, so you were able to get a leaf to stick?" ask the Hokage

"Not only can I get a leaf to stick, but watch this!" Naruto bragged

The Hokage's jaw dropped as not only was sticking multiple leaves, that were spinning, but Naruto proceeded to walk onto the pond, as though it was easy.

"Naruto, how? How are you able to walk on water?"

Naruto began to tell the Hokage all about his progress, and experiments with chakra control. As Naruto talked, the Hokage felt his dropping lower and lower.

" _Naruto must a genius to be able to control his chakra like this at Four and half years old."_ The Hokage thought

"Naruto, that is very impressive, you are very talented for your age"

Blushing, Naruto thanked the Hokage, and asked if there were any other techniques to learn.

"Well Naruto, there are many more ways to control chakra, besides shape manipulation, which is what you have been doing. There are various Medical Ninja techniques, as well as nature transformation. Not only that, there is Yin and Yang manipulation. There is still a whole world out there for you to learn." The Hokage explained.

"Ojiisan, is there anything more you can teach me, what about a Ninjutsu technique"

The Hokage thought about it, and decided to reward Naruto for his dedication. He decided to teach him the henge or transformation technique. The Hokage demonstrated the hand seals needed, and then performed the technique. With blur, the Hokage now looked identical to Naruto.

After demonstrating a few more times, Naruto decided to try. After a large cloud of smoke dissipated, Naruto looked like a misshapen Hokage.

"HAHAHA, try again! You need to keep in mind everything about the target of the transformation." The Hokage exclaimed.

Over the next hour Naruto got it down, and managed a very realistic henge of the Hokage.

"Hey Ojiisan, how come I still make this cloud, and your henge didn't make a cloud?" Asked Naruto

"Well, that is because my control is so good, there is no wasted chakra. You on the other hand are still no as familiar with the technique, and still waste chakra." The Hokage explained. "In fact, I am so familiar with the henge, that I don't even need hand seals to transform"

"Wow, how do you get to that level?" asked Naruto

The Hokage explained the process of getting a technique so refined that you could eliminate hand seals.

"I promise, not only will I master the henge, but I will get so good, that I won't need hand seals either!" Naruto Exclaimed

"I believe you." The Hokage said

After a nice day together, the Hokage told Naruto that he would bring by a few books later that week that explained various other ways to train chakra.

" _Let's see how far he can go."_ Thought the Hokage

True to his word, the Hokage dropped of several manuals on Nature Transformation, and the more info about Yin and Yang release.

With nothing to do during his day, having already learned to read and write well above his age, and not allowed to play with the other children, Naruto trained his henge and chakra control.

Naruto found that of all chakra natures, he could most easily use wind. Using the explanations the Hokage's book went over, he found he could cut a leaf in have the easiest. Soon he learned to cut even a rock. After being about to cut rocks, Naruto decided to try other natures. Besides wind, water and fire came the next easiest. Naruto was able to gather water from the pond or bucket, and then swell leaves with water moisture. Then he learned to heat up and excite his chakra to burn leaves.

Earth and lightening transformations were much harder though. After the relative success with wind, water, and fire, this was a disappointment. However, Naruto didn't let that get him down. By mid September he was able to crumble rocks. Lightening was the hardest though, which he thought made sense. If wind was easiest, then it's elemental opposite should be the hardest.

In fact by the time of his fifth birthday, no matter hard and fast he vibrated his chakra, he could only get the smallest of sparks, and that took a lot of concentration and time.

While Naruto was working on his transformations, he was also working of his henge. By his birthday, not only did Naruto get rid of the smoke, he also was able to get the Henge down to just one ram seal.

When the Hokage came around for his fifth birthday, Naruto was excited to show him his progress. And boy was the Hokage floored by the Naruto's progress. Not only did he practically master the henge, but also he could perform four out the five nature transformations. This really drove home the idea that Naruto was a budding genius at the ninja arts.

" _What the hell, he already knows one of the techniques from the academy, what is a couple more."_ Thought the Hokage.

The Hokage decided to teach Naruto both the bunshin and kawarimi to go along with the henge. After demonstrating the techniques and letting Naruto practice a few times to the Hokage's amusement (Naruto's clone looked dead, and he substituted himself into a wall), the Hokage took Naruto around the village.

After a great birthday with the Hokage, Naruto wanted to get the other techniques down. However it wasn't as easy as he thought it could be. While he was able to get the kawarimi down, the bunshin still gave him problems. It seemed that he could only make either dead or transparent clones, nothing convincing though. Deciding to put the bunshin on hold, he worked on henge until he finally was able to transform without a hand seal or any smoke. Deciding to dedicate his time to the kawarimi proved to be fruitful as well. Within a short period of time, Naruto could substitute without any smoke, and then Naruto got the Kawarimi down to one seal.

Now that he was five, a new development at the orphanage occurred. Naruto was able to go short distances away from the orphanage, as long as he was back on time. This freedom was like a balm to his soul. He could go into the wood surrounding the orphanage, and get away from all the coldness he experienced there.

Naruto spent his time exploring the woods, and creating imaginary games to play. This did Naruto a world of good, and allowed him to be a child again. Naruto's fitness level also sky rocketed with all time he spent running and jumping around the woods, and with his ability to cling to any surface, so did his understanding of his techniques.

By springtime Naruto had gotten both henge and kawarimi to be both without seals or smoke, and he was finally making a little progress on lightening transformation. He could now make five sparks before he lost concentration! This might not seem like much, but before it took all his concentration to make a single spark.

When the Hokage came by for his April visit, he was better prepared for Naruto's growth, but still happy nonetheless.

When Naruto asked about the academy starting in the Fall, the Hokage had to let Naruto down gently, and tell him about how he had to be six to enter. Naruto unfortunately wouldn't turn six until after the term started. So he would have to wait a whole extra year.

While disappointed Naruto understood, and decided to be positive. At least that gave him time to get his techniques down before he entered the academy.

"Hey Ojiisan, I am having some trouble with my bunshin jutsu. No matter how much I try, I can't seem to get the technique to work. Can you give me any hints?" ask Naruto

"Sure, let me see it." The Hokage asked "Hmm, I see now, it seems you are using way too much chakra, and not only that, but your chakra feels too dense for the technique."

"So I should try to use as little chakra as possible, and try to thin out the chakra flow for the technique?" Naruto asked

"Yes, hopefully that should work." The Hokage responded

After another great day together, the Hokage had to head back, and so wished Naruto a great day.

It took Naruto the remaining six months until his sixth birthday, to not only get a consistent lightening response, but to also make it happen as quick as the other transformations. He was finally able to crumble a leaf with Lightening chakra. This was a huge accomplishment, because he had now completed the training needed to use Nature Transformation all the elements.

Not only that, but he had finally learning to thin his chakra to point that he could make realistic bunshin. However the only problem was that he still had to use all the hand seals, still produced lots of smoke, and finally the smallest amount he could make was thirty clones. But still, none of them looked dead, which was a huge accomplishment for someone with his chakra capacity and density. The truth is that had Naruto not started to practice chakra control as young as he started, he probably would never had the control necessary to perform bunshin. Thankfully he started so young.

Naruto's sixth birthday brought the biggest change to his life so far. The Hokage asked if Naruto wanted to move out of the orphanage and into his own apartment. Normally the Hokage would have waited until Naruto was older, but Naruto was really mature for his age. That and the fact that Naruto could perform techniques that even freshly graduated genin couldn't perform reassured the Hokage.

And so for his sixth birthday Naruto moved into his own apartment, and finally was able to explore the village on his own. However he quickly discover much to his dismay that the cold treatment he received at the orphanage seemed much worse outside in the village. But Naruto was determined to make the best of it.

Naruto quickly learned to use henge to change into different forms. This allowed Naruto to move the village without the glares and cold looks. Over time he learned that the best forms, those that received the best treatment were those in the form of young girls, the cute the better. This reminded Naruto the most of his old dream of being a princess.

Soon Naruto was spending all his time outside the apartment in the form of various girls, he got so used to it, that he forgot to let of the technique at home. Because he was so good at it, the chakra cost was very little. He even started to become uncomfortable in his male body; such was his desire to be a girl.

So strong was this desire, that he wanted a way to make a permanent transformation. So Naruto went to the library to research the possibilities. Over time, without access to higher clearance ninja sections, Naruto determined he would have to create a new technique. This technique would have to be a Yin Yang release. The technique would need Yin to create from, and Yang to breathe life into it.

Naruto wasn't sure where to start, but luckily he understood the feeling of Yin and Yang chakra really well. Naruto didn't realize this but because of his exposure to the Kyubi's yang chakra, Naruto had become really sensitive to the difference between Yin and Yang chakras.

Over the next couple of months Naruto researched both advanced anatomy and started to make his technique. Naruto found that if he wove the Yin and Yang chakra in a certain way he could make permanent transformations. He decided to start off small, and make little alterations. First Naruto started by lengthening his fingernails and hair. Then by changing their color. While he was doing this Naruto was learning the major and minor differences between male and female forms. Not just looks, but everything from the different organs and placement of tenketsu throughout the body. He learned everything he could find on the differences between male and female chakra systems. One difference Naruto found is that women have slightly more tenketsu because of their ability to have children. The baby needed exposure to chakra too, so the womb of a woman had tenketsu as well. He even learned of the differences in DNA and hormones.

By late May, Naruto had mastered minor alterations and even some major one. The truth is that Naruto could make himself look so much like a girl in the face, that he could easily pass as a girl. Naruto realized that he could have left it at that, but knew that once he started to age, that the difference would start to stack up. So it was that be the end of June, Naruto felt ready to try a full transformation.

The process of a full transformation required that Naruto pick out a permanent form. So during the month of July, Naruto created his new form. He studied facial symmetry and the perfect ratios that human body is made up of, and Naruto decided that if he was going to be a girl, that he would be the most beautiful one he could be. So Naruto, made list everything he knew about beauty and looked magazines to compile a perfect form.

Once he had everything ready, he started to make the beginning changes. First he changed as much of his outer appearance as he could without major structural changes. Once he had his appearance right, he decided he was ready, or at least brave enough to make the plunge.

Naruto gathered all his courage and his chakra, and focused. He kept in mind the difference between male and female DNA, hormones, Tenketsu, and finally organs. He wove his Yin and then breathed life into his new form with Yang.

The pain was horrible, it felt like every cell in body was burning, which with changes on a DNA level, they might as well have been. The Pain was so bad that Naruto eventually succumbed and passed out.

Naruto woke in a dark place, in fact it looked like a sewer, with pipes running all over the place.

" _I wonder were I am?"_ the new girl thought. She looked down at herself, and realized that everything seemed to be a success. On the surface she was a girl. "Yatta!" She exclaimed. Excited to finally feel right in a body again, Naruto jumped up and down several times happy that she had accomplished her goal.

" _Still" She thought "How did I end up in a sewer, of all places"_ Deciding to explore and find a way out, she started walking down the tunnel. As it opened up, the tunnel ended in a room with a large cage with a paper seal on it. _"Weird, were am I"_

" **Come closer little human."** A voice in the darkness commanded

As Naruto approached the cage, the first thing she noticed was teeth and then a face. Finally a body came into view out of the darkness. It was huge! The creature looked like a fox, but huge and with nine tails!

"Hello?" "Was…Was that you talking?" she asked

" **Come a little closer so I can see you."** the creature demanded

Naruto approached the cage carefully, when all of a sudden the creature lashed out with it's claws.

"WHAT THE HELL!" she exclaimed as she fell on her butt.

" **I wish I can eat you, and get out of this cage!"** It roared

"Why did you do that, who or what are you?" Naruto asked, still shaken from the brush by from the claws.

" **I am the Kyubi, and I have be trapped here since you were born. I want to be free!"** The Kyubi roared

"Why are you trapped, and where are we?" Naruto asked.

" **That blonde rat, the Forth Hokage trapped me here! And where are we, foolish human, we are inside YOU!"** the Kyubi growled

"Me!?" "How, and why" "I thought you were dead….is this why everyone gives me those cold looks?"

" **Yes YOU! WHY? Because you were there, don't blame ME for your stupid father sticking me into you. He should have just died like a good human, but No, he had to seal me again. FREE ME!"** the Kyubi roared and slammed against the cage again.

"My father was the Forth Hokage, but why me, why the looks if I am the child of the Forth?"

" **You think I understand the tiny thoughts you stupid humans have, all you humans are good for are killing each other, and being killed in return by ME! NOW FREE ME"**

"NO, I MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND WHY, BUT YOU MUST BE HERE FOR A REASON, AND I WON'T FREE YOU UNTIL I KNOW WHY!"

And with that Naruto started to come to. "ugh, my head. What was that, a dream…No it makes too much sense, I must contain the Kyubi, and now everyone hates me for it." "I don't understand though, If I am just the prison for the Kyubi, why do people hate me!" she cried out

"Ojiisan will know, but he must have know all along. Why didn't he say anything before, what reason could he have for holding all of this back." She sobbed

Getting up Naruto wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and decided to check herself out before she confronted the Hokage. Walking over to a mirror, Naruto took one look, "I am beautiful!" She exclaimed. "Wow, My test run looks were good looing, but this is beyond that, how did that happen, I mean this isn't what I imagined. I am not complaining but WOW!" Turning this way and that, she looked at herself for the first time and was extremely please how everything turned out.

Naruto was now a breath taking looking girl. Her hair was long, all the way past her butt, and it was weird, it wasn't blond. No, it was like looking at the sunset, the majority was blond, but red and light oranges were woven through. It truly looked like her was on fire, or the sunset stretching across the sky. Not only that, her whiskers were gone! Her eyes were different, they looked larger, and the blue seemed to draw your eyes, they even shined. Naruto's face was heart shaped with prominent cheekbones and pouty pink lips. Here skin had a healthy glow, and her bones looked fine featured. But not only looks, here body felt different, almost stronger, more streamlined. It was strange and hard to put words to, but it was a great feeling. Not only that, but that she concentrated her chakra flow felt a lot more smooth and in control. Everything just felt better. Even her senses felt a little more intense, like everything was more.

Feeling extremely happy, Naruto started laughing in happiness, and twirling around. Finally stopping, she realized that she would need new clothes, maybe even a few dresses.

Suddenly realizing how tired she was, Naruto, decided to confront the Hokage in the morning about everything she had learned. That and prank him with her new form!


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto woke up bright and early the next day, ready to start a new life. After taking a shower in her new body(which was a little strange), getting dressed(trying to find something that looked good on her new body), and finally having breakfast, Naruto was ready to plan out her day.

" _I need to confront Ojiisan today. After that, maybe I can go shopping for new clothes! I will even make Ojiisan pay for them!"_ she thought excitedly _"After that, I need to start getting ready for the academy, I only have a month."_

Naruto with her plans set decided to henge into her old form, hopefully for the last time, and go surprise the Hokage. One of the advantages of no longer living in the orphanage was that she could go she the Hokage pretty much whenever she wanted.

After leaving her apartment, she started heading over to the Hokage tower. Doing her best to ignore the cold looks, she casually made her way into the tower. After climbing a few floors, she approached the Hokage's secretary, Akiko, who thankfully never gave her those glares.

"Hi Akiko-san! Is the Hokage in?" Naruto asked

"Hi Naruto-chan, yes the Hokage is in, and he can see you. Are you excited to start the academy soon?" Akiko asked

"Yeah! I can't wait" exclaimed Naruto

"That's great, I am sure you will have a lot of fun. Well, go on in, I am sure he will be happy to see you." Akiko replied

"Thanks, see you in a bit"

Naruto strolled into the Hokage's office, "Hey Ojiisan!" she shouted

"Hi Naruto, what brings you into my office this morning"

"Well, I wanted to show you my new technique!" she smirked

Recognizing that smirk, the Hokage was a little apprehensive, but decided to play along.

Naruto dropped her henge and shouted, "TADA!"

Sweat dropping, the Hokage said, "umm, not to burst your bubble, but I already know you can do a seamless henge transition, without seals or smoke."

"Ojiisan, this isn't henge! I just dropped a henge. This is my new body! I made a permanent transformation, and this is the result!"

Still skeptical the Hokage approached Naruto to examine her. He placed his hand on her head, and sent out a pulse of chakra.

Jaw dropping he realized that Naruto was telling the truth. "How…What…Why?"

"Well Ojiisan" Naruto started, "This is a permanent transformation using Yin Yang release instead of the usual henge, and remember when I was younger, I told you my dream was to be a princess. I never forgot that goal, and recently I have been working towards that dream. So what do the think?" Here Naruto did a twirl.

Still shocked, the Hokage decided to take a step back, and take a look at Naruto's new form. "Well, I didn't realize that you meant you wished you were a truly a girl back then, but you sure are a beautiful little girl." Taking a good look, the Hokage was actually a little shocked at how beautiful Naruto looked. It was almost unnatural. She simply looked like the perfect image of childhood beauty, almost too much so.

"Thanks Ojiisan, I didn't actually mean to look like this. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be pretty, and I like how I look. However this wasn't what I had in mind. I am not sure what happened. My practice runs all went smoothly, but some reason, when I made the final push to change fully, all the way down to the DNA, this was the result"

"Your DNA is changed?" the Hokage exclaimed

"Well, yeah Ojiisan, how else was I supposed to be a girl?" she replied

"We need you to be examined by a doctor, to make sure everything is ok" the Hokage said.

"Ok"

"Let me get my personal doctor to come over." The Hokage mentioned

"Well, while we wait, there is some things I want to talk about." Naruto said looking really serious. "First, I found out why everyone looks so cold to me, after I performed the transformation, the pain was so great, I fell into my seal. There I met the Kyubi. How could you never tell me about that?" she exclaimed

"I am sorry you had to find out that way." The Hokage said looking down, "I had planned on telling you when you were older, and better able to understand the situation."

Naruto looked up, "You should have told me, I think it would've helped knowing why I get the looks I do. It would have given me some peace about it. The other thing, why did you never tell me my father was the Forth Hokage? I shouldn't have learned about my father from the Kyubi."

*Sigh* "Naruto, I had a good reason not to say anything, you see your Father had many enemies. I was afraid that Iwa would target you for revenge. I couldn't take the chance that the knowledge about your father would leak."

"I guess I understand, I just wish I had known all along. Could you tell me about my parents now." She asked

"Yes, I guess I can. But you must tell anyone until I tell you to." The Hokage responded

"Your father, you now know was Minato Namikaze, the Forth Hokage. You mother was a woman named Kushina Uzumaki. She comes from the Uzumaki clan."

"What!…. I have a clan! What happened to them?" she shouted

"Unfortunately the Village the Uzumaki hail from was destroyed, and most Uzumaki either are dead or scattered across the world. For all we know, you could be the last Uzumaki." The Hokage said sadly. "The Uzumaki were famed and feared for their skills in Fuinjutsu, as well as there long lives and powerful chakra."

"Do you have any pictures Ojiisan?" Naruto asked

"Yes, here are some photos of your parents." The Hokage then handed over a few pictures, one in particular stood out. It was of her mother and father smiling, and her mother was pregnant with her.

"The look so happy." Naruto exclaimed in wonder

"Of course the are, I have never seen your parents happier than when they found out about you." The Hokage said smiling

"Ojiisan, could you teach me some Fuinjutsu, so that I could honor my clan?" Naruto asked.

"I would be happy to show you ropes, though I am not a master. The first thing you need to do is have perfect calligraphy. Your hand has to be steady. Not only that, you need a strong foundation in math, science, and chakra theory. So if you started studying now, in a year or two, I can start teaching you." The Hokage explained

"Awesome! I can't wait to get started. I promise to study as much as I can!" Naruto exclaimed

"Now the doctor should be here in a few minutes. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Naruto explained her problems with the bunshin, and asked if there was another clone jutsu she could learn that would be easier until she had time to master the bunshin. The Hokage thought about it for a minute, and decided that while she was young, her chakra levels, and control were actually above most chunin. So he decided to trust her with the kage bunshin technique. After he explained the risks and the benefits of the technique, such as running out of chakra and memory transfer. The Hokage showed her the technique.

Funny enough, Naruto was able to get the technique down in just a few tries. Probably owing to her large chakra reserves and level of chakra density.

"No you have to be careful with this technique, the memory transfer can cause mental fatigue if you dispel too many at one. However they make a great training aid." The Hokage explained.

Just as the Hokage finished explaining, there was a knock at the door, and the secretary let in the Hokage's personal doctor. Who proceeded to get the whole story of the permanent transformation.

After examining Naruto, the doctor told the Hokage that she was in perfect health. In fact the doctor said that was amazingly healthy.

After the doctor left Naruto turned toward the Hokage and asked if he wanted to learn the permanent transformation.

"Umm, Naruto I have no desire to switch genders." The Hokage said.

Sweat dropping, Naruto explained that this technique can be used for other transformations.

"Think about it Ojiisan, this technique works on the DNA level, you could even make yourself younger on the inside, but still look the same on the outside." Naruto explained

Intrigued the Hokage had Naruto explain the technique. Once the Hokage understood, he was astonished. People have been trying to make an eternal youth jutsu for ages, and here comes Naruto who does it on accident trying to switch genders.

"HAHAHA, if only Orochimaru could see this." The Hokage laughed out, " But on that note, I must make this technique a forbidden technique. If people knew you had the knowledge of enteral youth, well we would be hounded day and night."

"I wonder how I can explain you sudden change in gender though?" The Hokage wondered aloud.

"Well couldn't just say, that you hid the true nature of my gender and appearance until I was old enough to go the academy. That way you could protect me." Naruto reasoned.

"That should work."

"Also, could I change my name to Naruko, now that I am a girl?" Naruto asked.

The Hokage was okay with that, and from now on Naruto's records would say Naruko instead.

"Ojiisan, I need new clothes now that I am girl. Is there anyone you could have take me shopping for new clothes." Naruko wondered

"Well there is a chunin named Kurenai who I think would be good a person to take you. She is a good role model, and someone I trust." The Hokage reasoned

After summoning Kurenai, and explaining the cover story, she was happy to take the newly christened Naruko shopping.

Kurenai and Naruko had fun shopping for both civilian and kunoichi clothing for the newly minted girl. And after an exciting day, Naruko returned to her apartment, with several bags of clothes.

Determined to explore the village now as her proper gender, Naruko had a fun time. Everyone was very nice to the beautiful young girl. And even though Naruko knew that things would change once it became common knowledge of who she was. Naruko was happy while it lasted.

The next day, Naruko decided to practice with the kage bunshin, and found that is was an easy technique to get down. Not only that it made chores and training a breeze. Naruko had gotten to the point that she didn't have enough hours in the day to do all the training she wanted to do, what with he constant control training and also physical training added on. But now that she could use Kage Bunshin she felt her training would sky rocket again. Not only that, she could have time to read again, which she truly missed.

Over the month of August, with the kage bunshin to speed things along, Naruko had time to do her physical training, while her clones practiced controlling the elements, studying math and science in the library, and practicing calligraphy. She even had time to pick some new manga at the store to read. She found her two favorites so far were series called Ranma and another called One Piece. She liked the humor in both, the fact Ranma became a girl, and also the sense of hope and freedom in One Piece. She liked both so much that she started to burn right through them. When she go to the training and techniques used in the manga, she was determined to try to make some of them work. From One Piece she really liked the style Rokushiki, and from Ranma she really liked the kachu tenshin amaguriken and the Bakusai Tenketsu. Determined to make these techniques into reality, she drafted training plans to help her create these techniques.

For the Rokushiki, Naruko decided to start with the speed move, soru. She decided the beset way would be to start running up the stairs of the Hokage monument. Once she could race up the stairs without feeling any strain, she then would carry buckets with water. After water became easy she would add sand and then rocks. Once that became easy, she would start kicking the ground twice for each step without losing any speed. If she could do that she would keep adding kicks until she could race up the stairs kicking the ground ten times in a flash.

Naruko knew this was a long-term project, but she was happy to have a training goal. With clones being able to do her homework, Naruko felt that she could get in a lot of training during the academy school year, which ran from September to June.

Speaking of the academy, it started in only a couple of days, and Naruko couldn't be more excited. She knew not to get her hopes up, but hopefully she could make some friends.

On September 1st, Naruko made her way to academy bright and early. The Hokage had told her that he was giving the opening address, and she didn't want to miss it. She arrived a little early, and found a good seat. Soon she was joined by an all blonde family.

Nervous but still willing to try, Naruko turned to the young girl sitting next to her, so that she could introduce herself.

"Hi! My name is Naruko" She said as she introduced herself

"Hi! I am Ino" the girl replied.

The two girls started chatting, and quickly found that they both had outgoing and cheerful personalities. They found that they had some things in common. Both loved growing flowers, and they loved the same stories. In fact Ino's family even owned a flower shop, Naruko found out. They were becoming fast friends, and Naruko couldn't be happier.

Before Naruko knew it, the Hokage had arrived, and was steeping up to the podium so that he could give his address. As the crowd settled down, the Hokage started talking. He explained the will of fire, and how the academy students were the hope and future of Konoha. It made Naruko swell with pride to know that she was stepping in the footsteps of those that came before her. She couldn't wait to get started.

Soon the speech was over, and it was time to head inside. Naruko walked in so that she could find which class she would be in.

She turned to Ino and said, " I hope I am in the same class as you."

"Me too!" Ino replied "But no matter what, let's stay friends, okay?"

"Yeah! We definitely will!" Naruko exclaimed

Luck was in Naruko's favor though, as both Ino and Naruko were in the same class together.

"Yes!" they both shouted

Making their way to classroom 103 together, the found seats next to each other.

Soon the teacher came in.

"Quiet down class, I am Hideki-sensei, and I am your first year teacher for the ninja academy. I will be honest with you; the first few years of the academy will determine whether you can make it as a ninja. The first two years several students will drop out until we have the final class. That class will finish that last three years together, and will have the option to become proud genin of Konoha. Starting today your ninja career has begun. Now we will go over what it means to be a ninja, and then after lunch we will awaken each students chakra, if your family hasn't already done so."

Hideki-sensei proceeded to explain what it meant to be a ninja. He went over the various fields such as ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. He gave a brief introduction to what chakra was. He even explained some of the jobs ninjas could have. Overall while Naruko didn't learn anything new, she still found it interesting, and was too excited to become bored.

Soon it was lunch, and Naruko and Ino went outside to eat together. Sitting down by a tree in front of the academy, each girl opened her bento box. Ino offered to share her bento with Naruko, so Naruko returned the favor.

"Wow, Naruko, your bento is really tasty, where did you get it?" Ino asked

"Actually I made it myself." Naruko replied blushing

"What!...you can cook such tasty food? Where did you learn?" Ino asked

"Well, I am an orphan, and last year I started living on my own. So I had to learn to cook for myself if I didn't want to go hungry. Well that, or eat just instant ramen. And while I love ramen, I can't eat every meal" Naruko replied

"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that." Ino replied "maybe you can come over for dinner after class today, and we can eat together."

"I would love that!" Naruko exclaimed

"Yeah, I will ask my parents, when they pick me up if you can come over. I am sure they won't mind." Ino said

Just then the bell rang, so the girls got up to go inside for the second period of class. There, Hideki-sensei explained more about chakra, and talked everyone through the process of awakening their chakra. Since Naruko's chakra was already active, she decide to help Ino through the process. Soon Ino could feel her chakra flowing through her coils, and was amazed at the feeling it gave off.

Next Hideki-sensei passed out some leaves and explained the process of attaching them to their skin using chakra. Naruko having mastered this helped out Ino and anyone who needed help. Soon Ino got it down, and so did everyone Naruko explained it to.

"Wow, you are really good at this." Ino exclaimed

"Well, you see my clan has special chakra" Naruko explained, " it is very dense, and I could feel it from a young age. So Ojiisan explained the leaf sticking exercise to me. I have been doing to for some time now."

"Well, thanks for helping me out. I wonder what is next?" Ino wondered

"Well there are several steps after this" Naruko explained " First, is being able to slowly spin the leaf on your skin, then speed it up. After that, you can learn to float the leaf off your skin and hold it steady. Then you can float and spin. After that, well you can add more leaves."

"How many leaves can you hold using chakra?" Ino asked

"Umm, I haven't really tried to push it, but I can easily hold ten leaves." Naruko explained

"Wow!" Ino was impressed "how did you get so good"

"Well, I guess I have had a lot of free time, and also it was important for me to start early. I just found out, that if I hadn't started early, I probably would never had good chakra control." Naruko explained, "You see because of the size and density of my chakra, it is always stretching my coils. So if I don't work at it, I won't have good control."

"Still that is impressive!" Ino exclaimed

"Well, how about this, I can always help you if you want to train together." Naruko offered

"I would love to, I want to be a strong kunoichi." Ino stated

While this was going on Hideki-sensei was observing Naruko. He had been surprised to find out that she was a girl a few weeks ago. Not only that, but he had been prepared to dismiss the child, sure she would be up to no good. But sitting there he watched as not only she helped the others, but also everyone she helped was able to get it right away. It seemed she wasn't going to be the troublemaker he thought she would be. He would still keep an eye on her, but it looks like it would be too bad have her in his class.

Soon class was over, and it was time to head home for the day.

"Come on Naruko, let's go meet my parents, I am sure they will let you come over!" Ino exclaimed. She was excited because she rarely go to paly with girls, mainly just the children of her parents' friends. And Shikamaru and Choji, Ino felt, were too lazy and annoying. All they did was watch clouds or eat. Naruko was fun, pretty, and hard working. Everything Ino wanted in a friend.

Running outside, Ino met her parents at the academy gate.

"Mom and Dad, this is Naruko, she is my new friend." Ino said as she introduced Naruko.

"Hello, Mister and Mrs. Yamanaka! My name is Naruko Uzumaki, and it's nice to meet you." Naruko said as she bowed to Ino's parents, a little nervous that they might not be kind.

She didn't have to worry though. While Inoichi, Ino's father, had been initially shocked to find out Naruko was a girl, when the Hokage had made the announcement to the Jonin, he didn't have a problem with the Jinchuriki. He thought that Ino had a pretty good judge of character, and if she liked the girl, he would trust her. Not only that, but he respected the Forth's wishes to see the girl as a hero.

"Hi Naruko, it's nice to meet you! Call me Inoichi, and this is my wife Akane." Inoichi introduced himself, "Did you girls have a good day at class?"

"Yeah! It was fun." Both replied

"Dad, can Naruko come over today. I want her to hangout with me, and join us for dinner?" Ino pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

Sweat dropping, Inoichi agreed, much to Naruko's happiness. She had never been to someone's house before.

Ino grabbed Naruko's hand and started dragging her home, much to her parents' amusement.

In just a few minutes Ino dragged Naruko in front of the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Here we are!" Ino exclaimed. Proud to show off where she lived to her new friend. "We live around the corner."

"Wow, I know you mentioned your family had a flower shop, but still that awesome!" Naruko returned

"I know, I love the flowers, and also helping customers find the best flowers for the occasion." Ino stated

"Well, come on in girls. You don't want to stand outside all day." Inoichi said

Soon the Yamanaka family and Naruko were inside the house. Ino and Naruko chatted about their day to Ino's parents. Both Yamanakas were impressed with how Naruko had been able to help everyone.

"Do you know any other chakra exercises Naruko?" Inoichi asked

Naruko a little embarrassed proceeded to tell about both wall walking and water walking, and that she had completed the elemental training for all five elements.

Ino's parents were so shocked, that Inoichi even dropped his mug of tea on the ground, in surprise. Ino asked what the big deal was, and Inoichi explained that usually only Jonins were that advanced in chakra control. Even then not every Jonin could perform all five nature transformations. Inoichi wondered why Naruko was even in the academy. Naruko explained that just because she knows how to control chakra, doesn't mean that she know any of the other skills or knowledge needed to be a ninja.

"Plus, I wanted to make friends my own age." Naruko explained, "I wouldn't be able to do that if I graduated really early. Also I am not ready for the responsibilities of being a ninja. I might be skilled, but I am still a kid."

The Yamanakas accepted this, happy they didn't have to watch another child become a ninja so early. _"No one should have to be a killer this early."_ Inoichi thought.

Soon Ino got bored of the conversation, and dragged Naruko up to her room to show her around.

Naruko and Ino had a blast playing, and you could hear sound of giggling echoing from Ino's room.

Pleased that her daughter seem to have found such a good friend, Akane, got started on dinner, and in no time it was time to call the girls down to eat.

Soon a stampede of six year olds came charging down the stairs to join Inoichi and Akane for dinner. After a lovely dinner it was time for Naruko to come home, and Inoichi offered to walk her home.

Hugging Ino goodbye, Naruko and Inoichi set off. After a small walk they reached Naruko's apartment.

"Naruko, I want you to know, that you are always welcome at our house. So, Don't hesitate to come over. I think you will be a great friend from my daughter." Inoichi offered

With tears in her eyes, Naruko thanked Inoichi, and turned to head inside.

Soon it was time to get some sleep, because she had class tomorrow. As she lay in bed, Naruko realized that today had been the best day she had ever had, because she had her first friend. And with that thought Naruko fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruko got up bright and early the next morning excited. She had made her first friend! Naruko couldn't wait for the academy to start for the day. Even though she had two hours until she had to be there, Naruko was ready to go. She wanted to meet up with Ino again!

Since she had some time until she had to be at the academy, Naruko tried to come up with something to do. Unfortunately she didn't really have time to do any physical training. _"hmmm, I wonder what I can do for training"_ she thought. Naruko decided to create some kage bunshin and have them go the library while she was at the academy.

Once it was time to head to the academy, Naruko created ten kage bunshin for training. Five would go into a training ground and work on chakra control, and the other five would research at the library. Now that she was an academy student, there was more she could look up at the library. So the Library clones would read up on math, science, anatomy, chakra theory, and practice calligraphy. While that was going on, she decide the training clones would each pick an element, and do elemental training while standing on water. Hopefully that wouldn't be too hard.

Naruko turned the corner to the academy, and saw Ino waiting at the front gate. Excite she ran up and gave Ino a big hug. "Hey Ino, what are you doing waiting here?"

"Silly, I am waiting on you!" Ino replied, much to Naruko's happiness.

"Well, here I am, let's go in."

Naruko and Ino, made their way inside and found seats in their class. While waiting on Hideki-sensei and the rest of the class, they chatted about how much fun they had the day before.

"I can't wait to have you over again, Naruko!" Ino exclaimed

"Yeah, I can't wait. Your house was great, and your parents were very nice." She replied

Soon Hideki-sensei came in, and got class started. "Today Class, we will continue to work on chakra control, and then after lunch we will have a class on Shinobi history. So everyone pick up some leaves, and get started."

Soon everyone was hard at work practicing chakra control. While that was going on, Naruko once again was helping out her class. She was happy to help anyone that seemed to need some pointers, and while not everyone either needed or wanted help, enough students did. And by the end of the lesson, everyone who accepted Naruko's help seemed to have the hang of it.

Hideki-sensei congratulated everyone on their hard work, and dismissed the students for lunch. Once again, Naruko and Ino decided to claim a tree outside for lunch.

Sharing their lunch again, Naruko and Ino continued to bond. Soon, a few other classmates who wanted to thank Naruko for her help in class today joined them. Naruko and Ino were happy to have the company, and everyone seemed to get along great.

After lunch was over, the students made their way back into the classroom for history lessons. Hideki-sensei started by giving a brief talk about the warring clans ear, and how Konoha was founded. Naruko found this fascinating. Since she wanted to be the Hokage one day, Naruko paid attention to how the first Hokage came about.

After the lecture, Hideki-sensei mentioned that tomorrow they would begin fitness evaluations, so to make sure to wear the right clothes. Soon after, the bell rang, and the students rushed outside.

Ino and Naruko casually walked outside. Once they left the academy, Ino invited Naruko over again. Naruko early accepted the invitation, and the two girls made their way to the Yamanaka flower shop. Once they got there, Naruko and Ino ran around back, to hang out in the backyard garden.

For several hours the two girls played games, chatted, and even practiced their chakra control lessons for a little while. Soon Akane called the girls in to eat dinner.

"Akane-san, where is Inoichi-san tonight? Is he going to join us?" Naruko wondered

"Well Naruko-chan, Inoichi works as a Shinobi, and sometimes he has to work late." Akane explained

"Oh, what does he do?" Naruko replied

"He does both interrogations of enemy ninja, and also helps Konoha ninja with therapy." Akane answered back

"He must be really busy then? Though, how does he do both. I would think they are different jobs." Naruko wondered

"Well for most that might be true, but for Yamanaka it is different. You see, Yamanaka have the ability to mind walk. They can either find information, or help Ninja get over trauma." Akane said

"Yeah, Dad does a lot for the village, I am really proud of him." Ino chimed in

After that the girl focused on dinner, and then helped Akane clean up. Naruko realizing how late it had gotten, reluctantly decided it was time to go home. And after saying goodbye, made her way home.

Once she got home, she was met with the site of ten exhausted clones, both mentally and physically.

"Ok girls, how was training?" Naruko wondered, and her response was grumbles. Apparently clones didn't like having to do all the work, if the original was just going to have fun.

"Oh, come on, you know we all benefit from this, as soon as you dispel I will get your memories, and when I create more clones, you will get my memories." Naruko responded

In a big **POOF** of smoke all the clones dispelled, which was a bad idea. Naruko forgot that they had been active all day, and was hit with a crushing headache, the likes of which she had never had before. Stumbling her way to the bedroom, Naruko barely make into PJs, and set an alarm before she crashed onto the bed. Within a single moment of her head hitting the pillow, Naruko was fast asleep.

"ugh" Naruko grumbled as she came to the next morning. _"That was a bid idea to dispel them all at once."_ She thought

Getting up and getting ready for day took a little bit extra that morning, but soon she had mostly recovered. Naruko realized that she would have to invest meditation techniques, and also remember to dispel the clones one at a time.

This time she created eleven clones. The eleventh was going to research meditation, while the others going to continue what they had been doing before. It turns out standing on the water and performing elemental transformation was really hard. One had to be able to split their attention completely into to different mindsets.

Once again Naruko found Ino waiting at the gate for her, and once again Naruko ran up to give her a hug. After greeting each other, they made their way into class. Hideki-sensei was already there. Once the entire class came in. Hideki-sensei told the class that the whole day would be devoted to fitness tests.

The class went outside to begin the test, and once again it turned out that Naruko was ahead of most of the class. Because of all the time she spent exercising, and playing in the woods, Naruko was really fit. It also helped that she had started her soru training, and let me tell you running up the Hokage moment as fast and as hard as she could was exhausting work.

Amongst the girls group, Naruko came in first in all categories. Everything from sprints and long distance running, to pushups and pull-ups, and even gymnastic tumbling she came in first.

There was some good-natured grumbling amongst the girls, about how Naruko once again came in first in their tasks, but honestly she was such a bright and cheerful person, combined with how helpful she had been, that no girl could hold it against her.

And in fact Naruko was quickly becoming the idol of the kunoichi section. Not only was she the prettiest, but also she was the most talented of the kunoichi section. Naruko would have been embarrassed if she knew, but in this she was oblivious. In fact Naruko was the most talented of both the ninja and the kunoichi in the class. The fact that she didn't rub it in anyone's face made her extremely likable.

Soon class was over for the day, and Ino and Naruko walked outside together.

"Hey Naruko, want to come over again?" asked Ino

"I am sorry Ino. I really want to, but I have been putting off some training I need to keep up with. Can I come over tomorrow though?" Naruko responded

"Training? What are you training? And sure, how about you come over for a sleep over tomorrow after school, since tomorrow is a Friday anyway." Ino proposed

"Well, I am trying to create a speed technique, where I move so fast you can see the person. Unfortunately it will take years to get that good, so I can't give up. Especially since I just started training." Naruko explained

"Wow, you are really dedicated!" Ino praised

Blushingly Naruko thanked Ino. After giving her a hug goodbye, Naruko headed home to get ready for training.

Running up and down the Hokage as many times as she could, took a lot of stamina. Especially since she did pushups at the top of the monument. After a few grueling hours, Naruko made it back home to her clones.

This time, seeing how worn out she was, the clones were much happier.

"Hey girls, I think the meditation clone should dispel first, that way I can get that knowledge. After a **poof** Naruto understood a little about clearing the mind, thankfully the clone spent all day not just reading about also practicing meditation. So, putting the new skill to practice, Naruko sat down, and started clearing her mind of the day. Once she was reasonably well centered, she had the clones dispel once every five minutes. After the last clone had dispelled, and Naruko had processed the information, Naruko came out of her trance. _"hmmm, not bad. A little tiny bit of a headache, but not even close to what I went through yesterday."_ Naruko thought.

After getting ready for bed, Naruko realized that tomorrow she was going to her first sleep over. Boy, was she excited. Still, she was tired enough to get to sleep.

Friday morning, Naruko decide to take it easy today, and not do any clone training. This was a good thing in her mind, because everyone needs rest.

After meeting Ino at the gate with a hug, Ino gave the good news, that Naruko was welcome to come over for a sleep over!

"Awesome! I packed a bag just incase." Naruto exclaimed

The academy was more lectures and chakra control training. And Naruko was excited that it was over for the day, because she could wait to go over to Ino's house. She had barely been able to sit still all day, but finally the school day was over. 

The two friends made their way to Ino's house for the sleep over. Making their way inside the house, the girls dropped off their bags in Ino's room. Then they charged out to play for the day. After a full day playing in the garden, the girls made their way inside for dinner. Soon after Ino and Naruko watched a movie on the Yamanaka's TV. Inoichi came around that time, and told the girls it was time for bed. However Ino and Naruko stayed up for hours more chatting about everything under the sun. Eventually they succumbed to sleep.

The next morning the girls had breakfast, and Naruko was sad to go home. But after giving Ino an extra big hug, the girls parted ways, and Naruko made her way home for the day.

She decided to do her training for the day. So after making some clones, Naruko ran out the Hokage monument for her runs.

It was in this way that time flew by. Naruko and Ino would hang out after the academy three times a week, one of which would become a sleep over. The rest of time was spent going to the academy, clone training, and running.

In fact the only thing that really stood out, was the birthday party that Ino and her parents threw for Naruko. Naruko, who had never had a proper birthday party, responded with a giant smile and tears in her eyes.

In her soru training, she had advanced to weighted runs. First she carried two bucket of water, which was hard because unless she used water transformation training to keep the water in the buckets, she would end up splashing herself. Soon the buckets contained sand, and then she carried rocks. By April, Naruko could carry to large stones, which she tied up with rope to make carrying easier.

In her clone training, she soon advanced to not only water waking with elemental training, but soon she added leaf training too. Now she could stick ten leaves, and do the training.

On the library clone side, Naruko had also really advanced. She was very ahead in math, science, chakra theory, and her calligraphy seemed top notch.

With this in mind, on a sunny April day, she approached the Hokage about Fuinjutsu training. And After explaining where she was, and demonstrating her calligraphy, the Hokage, declared her ready.

"YATTA!" Naruko exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

Amused, the Hokage decided to set aside one day a week to teach Naruko Fuinjutsu. Every week they would have a lesson, and in between the Hokage would give Naruko homework in which she could practice the lessons, and learn new ideas.

Naruko it seemed had talent for Fuinjutsu, whether it was in her blood, or not didn't seem to matter. Because Naruko was moving along much fast that the Hokage expected. It seemed he never had to repeat a lesson, and Naruko always came in with not only all her work done but questions to ask. Naruko was dedicated to living up to her clan legacy, so she put her all into it. Truthfully she was really far ahead at the academy, and with clones to do her homework and research. Naruko was really only challenged by the Fuinjutsu studying she did.

Soon the first year academy was over, and Naruko had earned the top spot, not only among the kunoichi, but also the ninja as well, much the admiration of some, and the jealousy of others. Truthfully Naruko had become the class idol. She was by far the prettiest girl in school, but also the most skilled. Do to their relationship; Ino came in second amongst the kunoichi. It seemed studying with Naruko really benefited Ino. In fact Ino could have been second overall, but she never did the physical training that Naruko offered.

However after looking at the grades, Ino realized that she could have been second overall had she put in the physical training too.

"Hey Naruko, could you help me train. I realized just now, that I could have been second behind you if only I trained my body as must as everything else." Ino asked

"Sure Ino, I know just where to start you, and don't worry, I won't push too hard. Physical training is something you have to start off in stages, otherwise you could hurt yourself." Naruko replied

With summer break fully upon them, the two girls set out to Ino's house for a relaxing day. Naruko realizing that training could start in a few days.

Naruko's goal this summer was not only to advance in her Fuinjutsu lessons, but hopefully she would finally begin kicking the ground as she ran. She also wanted to get Ino caught up on some physical training.

The two girls spent a lot of time training this summer, and not only did Ino excel at the training; Naruto finally was able to kick the ground three times a step by the end of the summer. This was while carrying heavy stones. On the Fuinjutsu front, Naruto learned various exploding tags. She learned everything from smoke tags, flash tags, and finally real exploding tags. Naruko even learn how to make simple storage scrolls. Eventually Naruko would by the end of the summer begin working on more advanced storage scrolls.

Naruko didn't spend all her time training though. She and Ino also relaxed a much as possible with their training schedules. Ino's parents even took them to a hot springs resort. Which was a lot of fun, even if the girls did get over heated a few times.

Soon it was time for the academy's second year to start, and boy was Ino ready to show up her classmates, with how much she had improved. Because not only was she physically stronger, Naruko had taught her how to flow chakra into her bones and muscles to reinforce herself. Ino was quite talented at it as well, and soon Naruko thought she could teach Ino wall walking. This training would really help Ino's reserves.

Naruko could already tell a difference between this year and last. Several students hadn't returned, and the girls were in a different class. Ino even knew some of the students in this class, such as Shikamaru and Choji, who were the children of her parents' friends. There was also an Uchiha clan member, named Sasuke. There was even a girl with pink hair! Though Naruko couldn't say anything about strange hair, what with her hair looking like a sunset.

They also had a different teacher this year, a woman named Rin-sensei. She seemed like a tough teacher, who didn't put up with any nonsense. Even though she was in her late forties, she still was pretty. Naruko was going to be careful to give a good impression.

Another strange phenomena, was how the students were treating her. They were overly kind, but very curious for some reason. What Naruko didn't know, was that at the beginning of last year their parents had told them to avoid her boy form. But since none of the students put the beautiful Naruko together with "trouble maker" Naruto, they never avoided her. And over the course of the last school year, Naruko proved to be both talented, and incredibly kind. So, when the students went home that summer to tell their parents about the number one student Naruko Uzumaki, the parents weren't sure what to do. Because when they tried to bad mouth Naruko to their children, the adults couldn't come up with a reason why to stay away. Not only was Naruko kind and helpful, but also she was really talented. And since the parents couldn't talk about her status as a Jinchuriki, the kids had no reason to avoid her come fall.

So the children were really curious about Naruko, however she kept calm. Naruko continued her kind and help nature, and eventually the children concluded their parents were crazy.

Another strange thing that happened that year was something Naruko coined the year of the crush. It seamed that every girl in their class and even other classes, had a crush on Sasuke. Even Ino didn't seem immune to the effects, though it seemed Ino was too cool to be as blatant as a lot of the girls. Naruko didn't understand the big deal. Yes, Sasuke was good looking, but she didn't see the point of going crazy over a boy.

The school year seemed to blend together, Naruko kept up her training, and by December Naruko could kick the ground five times. She was also really advancing in her Fuinjutsu studies. She hoped to soon have a enough skill to create resistance seals to increase her training. Since weights could stunt growth, she hoped to create a seal that generated resistance for every motion she made. This way it would only effect her muscles and tendons, and not her bones in such a way as to stunt growth. She figured if she kept up her progress, then she would be talented enough by April that she could create the seals.

However a shock happened to Konoha during late December. The entire Uchiha clan was killed except for Sasuke. It was all anyone could talk about, and when Sasuke didn't immediately return to class, it caused uproar among the girls. However after three weeks, Sasuke returned. However he was really different. Where before, he smiled and was nice to the others in class, now he was cold and distant. He even became insulting to some of the others. He also seemed to have a burning desire to be the best, and started up a one-way rivalry with Naruko. The thing that really seemed to make him mad though was that Naruko didn't seem to notice his attention. Naruko was content being best friends with Ino, and making friends with the other girls. In fact, Ino seemed to take the pink haired girl under her wing when she caught others teasing her. So soon the girl, who was named Sakura, joined Ino and Naruko for lunch, and she even came over to have fun in the garden with the girls.

Naruko liked Sakura just fine, but she always felt a little jealous with Ino paid attention to Sakura. Naruko knew she shouldn't feel that way, but missed the times she had Ino to herself.

Naruko's projections were right, and by April she could create and apply resistance seals to her body. The seals at the lowest level felt like moving in a moderately strong wind, just that wind effect every single movement of the body. April also brought the ability to kick the ground seven times a step. Naruko really could feel herself getting faster.

The final thing that happened in April was that the Hokage asked Naruko to teach him the permanent transformation Jutsu. Maybe he was finally feeling his age, but whatever the reason, the Hokage decided he wanted to be younger on the inside. Naruko didn't know and the Hokage never mentioned it, but the Hokage had received a health scare. He was having heart problems, which would mean a cut down in chakra use. Normally he would have continued to decline until, and single fierce battle could spell the end of his life, but with Naruko's jutsu he could keep going until he was ready to hand over the hat. The Hokage swore Naruko to secrecy, but he decided to transform his insides to that of a man in his mid-thirties. This would give him a leg up on any opponent, since they would underestimate him, thinking he was just an old man.

With the use of the resistance seals, Naruko's soru progress ground to a halt. She went from being about to kick the ground seven times, back to only 3 times. Still, Naruko knew once she became accustomed to the seals, she would be that much faster after the training.

And so the end of the second year approached. The academy students in her year were very stressed, because they knew that many of them wouldn't make the cut. Naruko wasn't worried though; she still was in the number one spot out of both sides, much to Sasuke's frustration.

Grades came in, and like Naruko thought, she took the top spot. Ino however improved tremendously. Not only was she the second in the kunoichi class, just under Naruko. But she took third overall.

Ino jumped and down when she read that report, and gave Naruko a huge hug. With smiles on their faces, they walked out of the academy arm and arm, ready to enjoy summer break.


	4. Chapter 4

Summer break started out much like last summer. It was filled with a combination of training and fun. Naruko and Ino had a blast. Ino was finally strong enough to start sprinting up and down the Hokage monument, mixed with push-ups at the top. On top of that Naruko was able to sense that Ino's chakra was at a level to be capable of wall walking, mixed with body reinforcement. Ino's natural control was good enough, that she was able to get in down in one day. However Naruko made her practice until she almost had chakra exhaustion. Days filled with this and running really strengthened Ino. Naruko felt she could push Ino to be really strong, if she kept up with her training. She even decided that once Ino could attach leaves and wall walk, that she would teach water walking.

Something new for Naruko, was that she seemed to be developing the ability to sense chakra. So, Naruko was determined to train this new ability the best she could. Luckily Ino's father Inoichi was an amazing sensor, so she could ask him for tips.

Ino's parents even decided to take the two girls out of the village to go to a resort on the sea, not to far from the village. It was maybe a two-day walk, which might not seem far, but to Naruko who had never been out of the village. It was an amazing opportunity. It was while at the beach that Naruko discovered a new talent.

They had been at the beach for a few days, when it happened. Naruto and Ino had wandered pretty far from the Yamanakas, having blast playing in the ocean. While they were playing several drunk bandits approached the side of the beach that Naruko and Ino had come to a stop at.

"Well, what do we have here!" A drunken voice leered.

Both Naruko and Ino looked up to see three drunk men, that looked like thugs. Naruko wasn't sure, but they could have been bandits. They certainly looked the part.

"Well, Hoshimaru it looks like we have ourselves a couple of lookers hear!" another bandit leered "They look like they might even make for some good entertainment tonight. Especially once we break them in!" He laughed

The third bandit just laughed at this, and licked his lips.

Getting scared, the girls weren't sure what to do. They weren't close to Inoichi, so it even if he could find them, he might now make it in time. Naruko remembering that Inoichi was a sensor starting flaring her chakra in distress. Unfortunately one of the bandits was sensitive chakra, even if he couldn't use it. Acting quickly he grabbed Ino, and put a knife to her throat.

"You better stop that now!" he screamed out, "before I cut your friends throat."

Now terrified of the bandit hurting Ino, Naruko complied with the demand.

"wha..what do you want with us?" Naruko asked, now really scared.

"What do you think girlie, me and the boys ain't had any in several days, and you two lookers will do nicely. In fact if you are good girls, we might even keep you around. Well, at least until we get bored. Then we might make a nice profit." The bandit laughed out.

The bandits started pawing at the girls while laughing. Ino, Naruko could see was beyond terrified, and she was getting there herself. Naruko didn't know any ninjutsu attacks, and while that started combat training in the academy last term. But she wasn't confident that she could take all three, not without Ino getting hurt.

As the desperation set it, Naruko just lost it watching these scum touch her friend. And as she screamed out, an explosion of chakra blast out from her. When she looked around something amazing was happening, The bandits had been thrown back, and there seemed to be chains coming out of her body made of golden chakra. The three bandits were speared through the stomachs to the rocks around them. Each was crying out in pain.

The next thing Naruko became aware of was Inoichi appearing in the cove. He seemed to bleeding murderous intent toward the bandits.

"Thank god you girls are alright!" Inoichi exclaimed. At that, Ino threw herself at her father, who both seemed to calm down, and get even angrier with the bandits, that were still moaning in pain.

"Naruko, I am glad you are alright as well, but you can release them now, I will take care of them." Inoichi said menacingly

"I am not sure how" Naruko stuttered out.

"Just relax your chakra, and imagine the chains fading." He replied

At that, the chains seemed to dissolve, and the bandits dropped onto the ground where they cried out in pain. All of a sudden Akane appeared too.

"Oh, I am so glad you girls are ok." She cried.

Inoichi asked Akane to take the girls back to the camp, because he was going to take care of the trash.

Akane led the shocked girls back to camp, while her husband turned back to the bandits.

"You are lucky that you are already dying, because If you weren't, well, I would make it last." Inoichi snarled out. As he watched the life fade from the bandits, he let out a sigh. _"I wish the girl hadn't had to deal with this so young."_ He thought. Inoichi felt so worn from that thought that he turned to head back. Knowing that spending time with the girls would sooth his soul.

Soon he met up with the girls. They were both Naruko and Ino were crying from the shock of the attack. Inoichi just held both of them, giving as much comfort as he could.

Soon the girls fell asleep in his arms, and he laid them down in their tent.

The next morning the family packed up, and made their way back to Konoha.

While the event was traumatizing, Inoichi and Akane helped the girls get through it. And it gave both Ino and Naruko ample motivation to get stronger. So they would never be in that position again.

The rest of the summer was much calmer. Naruko and Ino trained a lot harder. By the end of the summer, Ino could run up and down the stairs with ease. She even was starting to do so with water buckets, but because she hadn't gone through water transformation training yet, the girls had to switch to light weights. Ino had even advanced to the point where she was learning water walking.

Naruko had improved as well. She pushed her self, and by the end of the summer she could kick the ground seven times again. This was with the resistance seals, so she was really happy with the progress. Once she could kick the ground ten times, she planned to up the resistance. She wanted to be able to perform soru with the lowest level of the resistance seal, before she upped them. Naruko figured if she deactivated the seals, it might be possible to use soru, but she wanted to be able to do so with the seal on. Just to prove it to her self.

Another thing she worked on was her chakra chains. The Hokage was a big help there. Because he remembered what Kushina had gone through to master her chains, he was able to give pointers to Naruko. By the of the summer, Naruko can reliably call forth three chains, and use like extensions of herself. She even was learning how to use them to suppress chakra.

Soon it was time for the third year of the ninja academy to start. It would be interesting, because this year the classes condensed. Many students had left after last school year. So this would be their final class change. They would be with these students until graduation.

The day classes started, Ino met Naruko at the gate like usual. They walked in together, and found seats. As they were waiting for their teacher, Ino looked around at the students they would be sharing classes with.

"It looks like we will be sharing class with many clan heirs." Ino commented to Naruko

"Hmm, that is interesting. I wonder if that will have any effect on the material we might cover." Naruko responded.

Conversation had to stop though, because the teacher walked in. He was young looking, with a scar across his face. The teacher introduced himself as Iruka-sensei. After he called role, he introduced the course aims now that the academy was in it's final four years.

Apparently they could continue and improve upon the taijutsu that they had been learning, but they will also add ninjutsu to the lesson plans. What Iruka-sensei called the Academy Three; henge, bunshin, and kawarimi. Luckily Naruko already knew these. They would also begin to add supplementary jutsu, such as rope escape. They would also cover trapping and stealth.

Naruko was happy to be learning things she hadn't already learned. She hoped the academy wouldn't be boring over the next three years.

Naruko continued to train in her soru technique, but it took until the end of December for Naruko to finally make it to ten kicks. When she showed Ino the completed soru, Ino was amazing at how Naruko moved so fast she vanished from sight. This really impressed her, and she couldn't wait until he could move that fast.

Naruko determined to have an attack, decided to work on rankyaku. This would give her the ability to kick out a cutting wind blade. She decided she would also increase her resistance to the next level. This felt like a powerful wind pushing against every movement she made. Once again, this slowed her down, but she was determined to keep training. And by April she was back to being able to use soru again.

With how much they trained, it was no surprise that both Naruko and Ino, were at the top of their class, especially in taijutsu class. Those who didn't train as hard could not match the speed and strength that the girls moved at, and this was apparent by the way the girls dominated the spars. In the mixed gender spars Naruko was even able to consistently win against Sasuke. While he might be strong, not even he could keep up with Naruko when she got moving. This push Sasuke to train harder that ever, just so he could show up Naruko. Funny enough Naruko didn't notice their rivalry, and even she knew about it, wouldn't have cared. This drove Sasuke spare. And while he didn't understand it, the reason he got so upset that Naruko didn't pay attention to him, was that he had a crush on her.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Naruko was the one of the only girls in class who didn't have a crush on Sasuke. Naruko only cared about the attention of her best friend Ino. And while she might know it yet, Naruko was developing a physical attraction to her best friend. However Naruko was dense in the romance department, so she didn't recognize her budding attraction to her blonde friend.

Soon it was time for summer again. Their third year was drawing to a close, and once again Naruko made her year's top spot. It was Ino though, that was so surprised. She tied Sasuke for the number two spot.

Ino was really excited to show her report to her parents, so she dragged Naruko with her to the flower shop. After showing her parents, and getting congratulated, Naruko and Ino decided to party it up for a bit. They went out to eat, saw a movie, and finally ended the night with a sleep over.

That summer, Ino and Naruko worked decided to keep up the hard work. Naruko, for one, was determined to be able to use rankyaku before school started back. She felt she was close, but just hadn't crossed a barrier yet. So Naruko's plan was to work on her leg strength to the point she could launch a wind blade.

Ino's goal, planned out by Naruko, was to be able to start kicking the ground multiple times. On the ninjutsu side of things, Naruko wanted Ino to be use the Academy Three with ease. She even hoped to get Ino to master one or two of them. Hopefully Ino will be able to get rid of the smoke, and also eliminate the seals.

" _Ino's control should be good enough. I mean she has gotten to the point where she can water walk with leaves attached."_ Thought Naruko. Ino had actually just reached that point by the end of the school year.

So with goals set, the girls got to work. Along with their training, Naruko continued her Fuinjutsu studies with the Hokage. The Hokage was impressed by her dedication, because Naruko was entering the advanced level of Fuinjutsu studies. The levels, Naruko learned, were General Knowledge, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Finally Grand Master. The Hokage truly impressed how far Naruko had come in such a short while.

The girls still shaken up due the disastrous beach trip last summer, decided to not push to leave the village this summer. They would be happy with just a trip to the hot springs.

About midway through summer, Naruko had her big break, and was finally able to launch a wind blade with a kick. It was a weak wind blade, but a wind blade nonetheless. She strained her leg doing it, and almost tore her leg muscles. However that didn't take away from her accomplishment. Now she just needed to work on it.

Ino's training was going well too. She could use the Academy Three with ease, and had eliminated the smoke from all three. She hadn't yet been able to remove any hand seals, but she was working on it. She hoped to get henge down to one seal by the start of term.

By the end of the summer, both girls had accomplished their goals. Naruko could launch wind blades reliably now. They weren't very powerful yet, really only enough to score a training post. But it was a huge accomplishment to her. Ino could now use henge with only one seal, and still keep it smokeless. She could even kick the ground twice per step now.

The girls' forth year at the academy was beginning soon, and they were ready for a good year. Both girls would be turning ten soon, Ino in September and Naruko in October. They were looking forward to being older too.

Soon the school year got under way. They continued to learn more taijutsu, and even some lessons on genjutsu. At first it was nothing serious, just basic genjutsu detection. However as the year went on the class learned how to disrupt genjutsu. They really only had to disrupt E-rank genjutsu, which were simple tricks to the senses. But it was a start.

Practice of rankyaku continued for Naruko, and by December she could reliably make much deeper scores in a training post. She hoped that by spring she could cut a forth of the way through a training post. She also started working on hand speed, trying to up it, so that she could begin the training for the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. Another project was learning how to generate medical natured chakra. Here she asked the Hokage, who provide some books on the subject. He also introduced to a trainer in the medical program. The trainer was a woman named Hideko. She told Naruko, that she would be willing to meet once a week, and go over Naruko's progress.

Ino continued to work at improving her ninjutsu and also increasing her kicks. By December she could kick four times. She could perform the henge with no seals, and only need one for kawarimi. She hoped to eliminate the final seal by spring.

February brought a surprise to both Ino and Naruko. The girls were having a sleep over at Ino's when Naruko woke up to weird feeling. Getting out of the bed she and Ino were sharing, Naruko noticed something wet in her underwear. She screamed a little when she noticed blood, which woke up Ino. Inoichi and Akane rushed to see what the matter was. After finding out, Inoichi left this issue to his wife.

Akane explained what was going on to Naruko, who felt a little embarrassed that she made such a big deal at first. Naruko was relieved to get her period, it meant she really was a really girl. She had always had a fear in the back of her mind that she had screwed up somehow. That, for all the doctor said, she wouldn't be 100% female. This relieved her worry. A could of days later, Ino joined the club when she had her period too. Though she was a little better prepared after going through it with Naruko.

By the middle of spring Naruko had accomplished her goal of cutting a forth of the way through a training post. Now her rankyaku was a real weapon. She also continued he medical training, which Ino became interested in. Ino joined once a week too. Soon both girls could reliably generate medical chakra. Though Naruko was much farther along because of her ability to use kage bunshin. Which Ino thought was totally unfair.

By the time the forth year started coming to a close, Naruko was able to revive a fish that had been out of water for five minutes, heal small cuts, and even heal small burns. The ability to handle burns, was big in Naruko's book, mainly because of the training for the Amaguriken, which required the user to be able to pull roasting chestnuts from a fire.

Soon summer started, and Ino was excited to have tied Sasuke again.

This summer had the most change of them all. It started the same as any other summer so far. Mainly the girls were training and having fun. Naruko's goal was to be able to cut half way through a training post, and also get down the kachu tenshin amaguriken. Ino's goal was to improve her kicks, increase her ability with medical chakra, and finally remove the last of seals from the bunshin.

What made this summer weird is that at the beginning Sakura broke off her friendship with Ino, so that she could chase after Sasuke. Naruko thought that was the dumbest thing she had ever heard. Nothing could make her end her friendship with Ino. While Ino was hurt by this, she had Naruko to cheer her up.

The other incident happened during a particularly bad training day trying to learn the amaguriken.

Naruko plunged her hands into the fire trying to grab the chestnuts as fast as she could. She had gotten a lot faster, but today was too stubborn. She tried to long, and really burned her hands. Luckily Ino was there with burn cream and healing chakra.

"You dummy, you could have really hurt yourself this time." Ino said. Naruko thought she sounded really exasperated.

"I am sorry Ino, I just really wanted to get that time." Naruko replied.

"Well let me see your hands so I can fix them up." Ino demanded

Ino kneeled down in front of Naruko, and started to heal her hands. Naruko looked up at Ino, and could help but notice how focused she looked. _"Man, she sure is cute, focusing that hard"_ Naruko thought. Ino had tongue out; she was focusing so much on healing Naruko. Mesmerized Naruko leaned forward captured Ino's lips in a kiss. For a moment neither girl moved, then panicking, Naruko apologized and took off as fast as she could. Dumbfounded Ino just sat there with her hand to her lips.

Sitting in her apartment Naruko was furious with herself. That wasn't the first time she had noticed how pretty Ino was. _"But why did I have to kiss her, and ruin everything."_ Naruko cried out in her mind.

Naruko lost track of time in here misery, but eventually she heard a knocking on the door. Sighing, but getting up anyway, she answered the door to see Ino there.

"You dummy, you ran off before I could finish. You must be in a lot of pain." Ino commented, "Now let me see your hands"

Naruko led Ino over to her couch, where they both sat down. Ino took Naruko's hands into her own to begin the healing process again. After a few moments she commented, "You know I didn't mind you kissed me,"

Naruko looked up in surprise, "Wha..at?"

"Yeah, I was just shocked, that's why I didn't say anything. That's all." Ino replied

"So, where does this leave us." Naruko asked with a little apprehension in her voice.

'

"Well, I wouldn't mind try it again." Ino smirked as she looked up

"Rea…lly" Naruko stuttered out.

"Yeah, but this time don't run off, ok." Ino replied, and with that leaned forward to capture Naruko's lips in a kiss.

Both girls leaned into each other, now really getting in kissing each other. Ino decided to deep the kiss and pressed herself against Naruko. At that, Naruko let out a little moan. Ino used Naruko's moan as a chance to dart her tongue in. Naruko moaned into Ino's mouth, and met her tongue. Soon both girls were lost in each other. Reluctantly, each girl needed to take a breather.

"Wow!" they both exclaimed, and at that both started giggling.

"Where do we go from here, I am mean I thought you liked Sasuke." Naruko asked.

"Silly, Sasuke might be pretty, but you will always come first. You are my best friend. And you happen to be much prettier than Sasuke." Ino Replied

After that Ino and Naruko fell right back into their rhythm. Just now, if they happened to spend a lot more time at Naruko's apartment than before. Well no one seemed to notice, and both girls were happy with that for now.

By the end of the summer, both girls had met their training goals. Naruko could cut halfway through, and also beginning to get the hang out the amaguriken. She wasn't superfast yet, but she could pull out the chestnuts without burning herself, well most times at least. Ino accomplished her goals too, she added more kicks, nailed the bunshin, and got really good at healing with chakra, especially burns. She got a lot of practice with those.

Ino and Naruko's relationship was even closer if that was possible. By admitting their attraction to each other, the fear of rejection was gone, and both girls couldn't be happier.

Soon it was time for summer to be over, and time for the girls fifth year to begin. Since this was the second to last year, hopefully they would be able to learn new things. Each girl wanted to keep improving.


	5. Chapter 5

The fifth academy year started just like any year. Ino and Naruko met at the gate, before they decided to make their way inside. Iruka-sensei was still their teacher, but he hadn't arrived yet. So the girls found some seats, and sat down to talk.

Ino felt a little different this year, normally besides Naruko, she would chat with the other Sasuke fangirls, but because of Sakura's behavior, she was a turned off of being around them. Well that, and the fact she was with Naruko now. Even though they hadn't had a conversation about where their relationship was going. Ino was happy with the secret, stolen kisses the girls would take with each other. " _They were only almost eleven, so there is no need to rush into a relationship."_ Ino thought.

Looking around Ino decided that they both needed some more friends though. So taking a mental inventory of the others in the class. Ino came to the decision that the other girl not Sasuke crazy was Hinata. Even though she was super shy and quiet, Ino felt that between Naruko and herself, they could break her out of her shell. Nodding to herself, she decided to talk to Naruko about this at lunch.

Iruka-sensei walked in around that time, and shouted for quiet. Soon lessons were underway. While they next day or two would be review, Iruka-sensei assured everyone that soon they would be moving on to advanced classes. Lessons this year would contain advanced kunai and shuriken jutsu, more advanced traps, codes, ninja procedures, and introduce and refine several ninjutsu. Ino was excited by the challenges, and was looking to show everyone how advanced she had become.

When the lunch bell rang, Ino approached Naruko about adding Hinata to their group. At this Naruko looked over at Hinata, and realized how lonely she must be. She never talked to anyone, and seemed to nervous reach out to new people.

"That's a great idea Ino, we should have approached her ages ago. She seems really sweet and shy." Naruko commented

In agreement, both girls went over to Hinata, to invite her to lunch with them by the tree outside. Shocked and blushing a little, Hinata agreed to join. The girls spent lunch trying to draw Hinata out of her shell. Which by the end of lunch made Naruko think Hinata was the cutes thing ever. And she became determined bring out the true Hinata.

This became the norm for the next several weeks. The girls would have Hinata join them for lunch, and as time went by Hinata did seem to be coming out of her shell. By Ino's birthday, the girls felt confidant enough that Hinata would accept an invitation to come over to Ino's for dinner.

So on the day of her birthday, Ino asked Hinata to join them for dinner to celebrate her birthday. Hinata became really shy, but hesitantly agreed to join the two girls for Ino's eleventh birthday.

So after class the three girls made there way over to Ino's house. On the way Hinata had to stop at the gate to the Hyuga clan compound, so that she could let her father no she was going to Ino's house. After telling a branch member where she was going, the three girls made their way to the Yamanaka's house for the birthday celebration.

It was a small affair; of the kids their age it was just the three girls, plus Shikamaru and Choji. The boys had been brought to the party by their parents in the hopes that the Ino-Shika-Cho team might be reborn. While the formation was due to the close ties between the clans, Ino didn't really have any desire to be on the two boys' team. She was really hoping she could be on a team with Naruko. Not only did they have great teamwork, but also they were best friends.

Hinata had a lot of fun at the birthday party. It was completely different than any party she had been to with her clan. It wasn't stuffy at all, and everyone seemed to by having a great time. She even saw Ino's father, who had introduced himself as Inoichi, having a small drinking contest with his friends. It was such a lighthearted atmosphere that Hinata started feeling relaxed, and much to Ino and Naruko's relief started coming out of her shell. She even engaged in some party games with the girls.

Before anyone knew it, it had gotten quite late. Hinata was sad to have to go, but before she could leave, Ino talked her into staying the night. Hinata would have refused, having never spent the night sway from home, but Ino and Naruko were very convincing. And before Hinata could understand what happened, the three girls were already upstairs in Ino's room, having fun. Hinata had to borrow some PJs from Ino, because Naruko's were a little too tall. Naruko, Hinata found out, spent so many nights at Ino's that she kept a stash of clothes in the closet.

"Yeah, Naruko and I can no longer share clothes Hinata. She is the tallest girl in class. Not only that but she is already developing, and I am definitely jealous" Ino said motioning to her hips and chest, much to Naruko's embarrassment. Hinata blushing as well, looked over at Naruko and saw what Ino was talking about. Naruko's hips were starting to widen into a figure, and she already wearing a training bra. As Hinata looked at Naruko, she realized for the first time how truly beautiful Naruko was. Oh, she had known Naruko was a pretty girl, but truly looking at her made her aware. Ino, Hinata noticed was a very attractive girl, but Naruko was breathtakingly so. So much so, that Hinata started to feel subconscious of her own appearance.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Naruko asked, as she noticed Hinata looking down.

"It's nothing…it's…It's just that you are so beautiful, and I wish I was pretty too." Hinata mumbled out.

"Hinata, what are you talking about!" Naruko exclaimed, "You are really pretty. You have such a cute face, with beautiful soulful eyes. Trust me, you are pretty. In fact you are one of the prettiest girls in class." Naruto reassured.

Ino nodding along chimed in, "Yeah Hinata, you are really pretty. In fact the only reason you don't notice it, yourself, is that you are so shy. But don't worry, once you spend some time with us, you wont' be shy any longer."

"You really think so?" Hinata wondered

"Yeah, we both do." Naruko responded "In fact you should join us more often. Both just to hang out, and to train." And Naruko meant it. Where before Naruko had felt jealous of Ino paying attention to Sakura, Hinata could be a friend to both girls. Plus Naruko was a lot more confidant about her place with Ino, now that both girls had admitted their feelings to each other.

Reassured and hopeful of the future, Hinata relaxed, and decided to just enjoy the rest of the night. All three girls, stayed up way too late talking and giggling. In fact they didn't fall asleep so much as pass out chatting the night away.

The next morning, Akane, woke the girls up for breakfast. It was like looking at three zombies. " _Apparently they didn't get much sleep"_ Akane thought sweat dropping.

"ugh…we stayed up way to late." Naruko grumbled out

"It was totally worth it." Ino mumbled

"Zzzzzzz" Hinata replied

After the girls woke up a bit more, showered, and had breakfast, they felt human again.

After breakfast, the Naruko and Ino told Hinata about their training program, and invited Hinata to join in. She was at first hesitant, but Ino assured Hinata that they could start her off in the right place.

"Hinata, you don't have to be as strong as us, we have been doing this for several years now. In fact Naruko was the one who taught me. We can help you go your own pace. Plus we don't' spar that much. Mainly it is physical conditioning with chakra control thrown in." Ino said reassuringly.

Hinata, who had a hard time initiating combat, did feel reassured by this. And knowing how strong both girls were, was secretly hoping to get just as strong. She was tired of letting down her father. Finally Hinata agreed to train with the other girls. Happy about this Ino and Naruko decided to start later that day.

"How about we walk you home, Hinata, and then we can meet up later in day, say after lunch, for some training. That way we can gauge you fitness level and your ability to control chakra." Naruko proposed

After agreeing, the Ino and Naruko walked Hinata back home. With plans to meet the later that day, Ino and Naruko started to walk off.

"So what so we do until then?" Ino wondered

"Well… we could always go back to my apartment. I have to, you know, check on my plants." Naruto proposed with a slight blush.

"Someone is being sneaky." Ino stated

"Is that a no" Naruko wondered

"I didn't say that." Ino replied with her own slight blush

With that, Ino grabbed Naruko's hand, and the tow girl made their way back to Naruko's apartment to "check on the plants".

Soon they made their way into Naruko's apartment, and they sat down on the couch. Before Naruko could say anything, Ino lunged over and pinned Naruko to the couch. Looking into Naruko's mesmerizing blue eyes, "I have ben thinking about this since we were here last weekend." Ino stated. And with that, leaned in for a searing kiss. The kiss was quite intense, and soon had Naruko moaning into Ino's mouth. Once again taking advantage of Naruko's open mouth, Ino darted her tongue in to caress Naruko's tongue. After dueling with Naruko's tongue for several minutes, Ino eventually pulled back for a breather.

"Wow, not that I am complaining, but what was that for." Naruko panted

"I…I didn't …get a birthday kiss yesterday." Ino panted back

"Well, that was only one, if I am not mistaken, you are eleven" Naruko eventually replied after getting her breathing under control.

Smirking Ino said, "Well I guess we will have to correct that error." And with that the girls leaned back into each other.

After making out for an hour, both girls decided to take a break. Neither was quite ready to go any farther. They might be mature for their age, what with being trained to become child soldiers, but that didn't mean they were ready to take a physical relationship to the next level.

The girls decide to get lunch out instead of staying in to make it.

"Where do you want to go for lunch." Ino asked

"Well you know I am always up for ramen." Naruko replied

"I should have known." Ino sent back "Well that is fine with me, so Ichiraku I assume."

"Of course, it is the best ramen in Konoha." Naruko commented

So both girls went to Ichiraku for lunch. There Naruko and Ino were greeted cheerfully by the owner Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Naruko had been coming here since she was a child, and never once did they treat her badly. In fact even when she was a boy, they were kind to her. Because of their kindness, Naruko swore to always be a loyal customer.

After a satisfying lunch, Naruko and Ino went back to Ino's to grab some training clothes for the afternoon. After getting ready, they made their way over to the Hyuga compound to pick up Hinata. After talking to a branch member at the gate, they were soon joined by Hinata.

The three girls made their way over to their usual training ground near the Hokage Monument. There Naruko gave Hinata some drills so that she could see Hinata's level of fitness. After reassuring Hinata that she wasn't being judged, and that these were just an assessment, so that Naruko could create a training program, Hinata gave it her all.

After getting a good idea of Hinata's level, Naruko called for a break. While the girls rested, Naruko came up with a plan that Hinata could do, so that she could get ready to sprint up the Hokage monument.

After the break the girls got to it. Hinata started the exercise plan. Ino made her way to the stairs, and Naruko started using soru to circle the field. Naruko wanted to be able to maintain soru for as long as she could, and this was a good way to build leg strength.

Ino was almost able to kick the stairs seven times each step, and so she wanted to push herself. Right now she alternated between six and seven. But she was determined to soon be able to do seven. Naruko had told her that once she could do that, she would apply the resistance seals to Ino. Ino had wondered why she need to wait, but Naruko explained that the user need a base level high enough so as not to hurt themselves with the seals. Since Naruko had started at seven, she figured that was a good enough place for Ino.

After an exhausting day training the girls walked Hinata home for the night. Feeling cheerful about training for the first time, Hinata was happy to agree to training with the girls. It was such a refreshing change to not disappoint someone while training, that Hinata was feeling positive about her future strength.

After dropping Hinata off, both girls went to their respective homes for the night, happy that they had included Hinata.

It was in this way that the fall was spent. In fact beside the fun of Naruko's eleventh birthday, the days fell into a regular pattern of school, training, and hanging out with each other. And by the start of winter, all three girls ha become quite close.

Hinata it seemed was quite strong once she was no longer afraid of disappointing anyone, and soon made her way to the stairs for sprints. She also had excellent chakra control, and in fact already knew the wall walking exercise. She even picked up water walking easily. And so for her chakra training, she was working on eliminating smoke from her ninjutsu, and eventually getting red of seals too.

Ino finally had the resistance seals added, and was set back in kicks, but soon made her way back to four kicks. She hoped to be able to use soru with the resistance training by the end of the school year. She also was getting quite good with medical chakra.

Naruko was extremely happy; she had finally cut through a training post with a wind blade. Her next few goals with rankyaku were to be able to cut down a tree, then a boulder, and finally several trees. She had finally got the amaguriken down. And could pull the chestnuts out every time without burning herself. Right now she could punch one hundred times in a second. That might seem like a lot but, she really wanted to be able to go over two hundred. She had also become incredibly fast with soru, and was able to use it without getting exhausted. She figured with that, it was time to up her resistance training. The next level would feel like wading through water, and Naruko was looking forward to getting stronger. She hoped to start on Geppo soon, as that would add an extra dimension to her fight style.

Chakra wise, Naruko felt extremely confidant about her ability to head minor and some major wounds. She could now generate medical chakra effortlessly. The only thing she needed was experience using the technique. So hoped that he medical trainer would allow her to work on some patients, so that she could get the experience she needed. Naruko's chakra chains were coming along nicely. She could now generate seven chains, which allowed her to form small barriers. She was even learning to sprout chains off of other chains. Naruko's biggest gain was in chakra sensing. Working with Inoichi she had learned to extended range for over a mile in any direction. Not just that though she seemed to be developing the ability to sense negative emotions. While this would be useful to find enemies, Naruko didn't like being able to always feel the negative emotions of those around her. It turned out that people felt negative at the drop of a bucket. It made being around people like Sasuke annoying. Because of this draw back, she was working on learning to sense positive emotions. To do this she created a seal to blocked sensing, and placed them all over her apartment. Then she would sit with Ino, and try to feel what Ino was feeling. If she got it right, Ino would reward her with a kiss. With that motivation, slowly but surely she was learning feel out positive emotions.

Soon the New Year dawned, and the girls got back into training. Naruko feeling a lack in the ninjutsu department decided to talk to the Hokage during the next Fuinjutsu lesson they had. She had known how to convert chakra to its elemental composition for quite some time, but she didn't know any jutsu she could use with this.

After talking to Hokage, he gave her a scroll with a couple ninjutsu of each element for her to practice.

The techniques the Hokage gave her were:

Wind:

Fūton: Reppūshō – which was the gale palm technique that could launch shuriken much faster.

Fūton: Daitoppa – which was the great breakthrough technique that could blow enemies away.

Water:

Suiton: Teppōdama – Which was the Gunshot technique that first a bullet of water.

Suiton: Mizurappa – Which was the Wild Water Wave technique that allow the user to fire a high pressure stream at the target.

Fire:

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Which was the Great fireball technique .

Katon: Endan – Which was the Flame bullet that required the user to create oil in their mouth to launch like a bullet or stream.

Lightening:

Raiton: Gian – Which was the False Darkness technique that fired a spear of lighting.

Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga - Which was the Lightning Beast Tracking Fang that sent lightening in the shape of a beast towards the opponent.

Earth:

Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu – which was the Hiding like a mole technique that allowed the user to move through the earth.

Doton: Retsudo Tenshō – Which was the Tearing Earth Turning palm technique that would cause the earth spiral in on itself to crush an opponent

Naruko was very excited to learn these techniques. What kid wouldn't be excited at being able to shoot lightening or fireballs on demand? After thanking him Naruko ran out of the Hokage's office to practice her new techniques.

Naruko arrived at her training ground and formed twenty clones, that way each technique could have two clones to practice them. She was excited to try them, but she also smart enough to allow the clones to try them first incase there was any problems.

Naruko decide to stick around to both supervise and create any new clones that might be needed. After some false starts, Naruko's clones started getting the hang of the techniques. By the end of the day Naruko had gotten down all of the techniques. She knew she hadn't mastered them, but at least she could perform ninjutsu from each element. Naruko knew that they could be made a lot stronger, and was determined to keep practicing so that she could master the techniques.

Learning elemental ninjutsu reminded Naruko that Ino needed to go through elemental training too. She decided to go buy some chakra paper at a Ninja outfitters so that she could test Ino's affinity to elemental chakra.

The next day before class Naruko bought some chakra paper. She ended up buying two pieces, one for each Ino and Hinata. After class the three girls met at the their training ground, where Naruko revealed the chakra paper.

After explaining chakra paper each girl tried the paper out. Ino it turned out had both water and earth, while Hinata had both fire and lightening. So after discovering their affinities Naruko explained the training need, and let the girls get to work on transforming their chakra. It would take some time, but both girls were determined to master this, so that they could use ninjutsu.

Why this was going on, Naruko left some clones while she practiced her soru with the new resistance on. This proved exhausting, but Naruko knew this was needed if she ever wanted to use Geppo.

This became the routine over the next several months, Ino and Hinata would do the physical training and then move on to elemental transformation. While they were doing that Naruko was pushing the limits with her body using soru and the amaguriken to devastating effect, and letting her clones practice the ninjutsu the Hokage gave her. Hinata like Ino thought that this was a total cheat, but what can you do.

Naruko had another issue she was running into. The academy taijutsu they were learning wasn't truly suited to blistering speeds she was developing. It was a good but basic style that was designed as a starting style to complement genin. Since she didn't have any other styles to use, Naruko decided to try and create a high-speed style. Using the good form the academy taught as a foundation, Naruko was slowly but surely creating a style to handle such fast paced movements. Her first katas were coming along nicely, and she was determined that by the time she graduated, she would have built a strong foundation that could last her the rest of her life. The style she was developing used high-speed attacks to target vulnerable areas on the human body. The style would incorporate not only hands and feet, but also include knees and elbows. She would also use speed instead of strength when making her hits. It would allow her to fight on her terms, instead of the opponents. This combined with her ability to use chakra chains to immobilize the target would make her a very formidable opponent. Hopefully this would be a style she could pass on to any future students, or to any children she might have.

The girls kept up this pace of training well up to the end of the school year, and much to Hinata's shock and joy it really paid dividends. By the end of the school year Hinata had moved up to forth in class over all. She was also gaining a quiet confidence as well. She still wasn't a loud person, but she no longer shied away from confrontation. Even her father noticed this, and commented on her progress. She now had the confidence to fight both her father and when asked her younger sister who she could never fight at her best before. This was mainly due to Naruko advising Hinata that she wasn't doing Hanabi any favors letting her win. Not only would that give her sense of overconfidence, but also she would never be pushed, and thus she wouldn't grow stronger.

"Hinata, if you want Hanabi to survive in this world, then she needs to be strong, and you holding back on her only makes her weaker. And trust me I know, there are a lot of horrible things that can happen to kunoichi out in the field that are much worse than death. It almost happened to me and Ino when we were younger." Naruko told Hinata. And it was this argument that was the push Hinata needed to set aside her fears.

By the end of their fifth year of the academy, both Hinata and Ino had completed the elemental transformation training for one their elements, and they were moving on to their second elements. Not only that but Hinata was learning to kick the ground multiple times, and could do so between two and three times a step, and Ino was now between seven and eight kicks wearing the resistance seals.

Naruko started teaching both girls some ninjutsu that corresponded with their elements. And they were coming along with it. Hinata learned the Katon: Endan, and Ino learned the Suiton: Teppōdama. They were very powerful with the jutsu yet, but they were constantly improving.

The biggest thing that happened to Naruko was that she finally had some progress with Geppo. She could now kick the air so hard that she generated air resistance. That resistance was enough to push slightly off of. She hoped that by the start of next school year, that she could use Geppo reasonably well.

With start of summer, the girls decided to take a break for a few days, and just have fun.

Ino's parents even decided to try the beach again, now that the girls were much stronger. That and Inoichi promised himself to keep a careful watch over the girls. Unfortunately Hinata couldn't come, and Naruko and Ino were depressed about this, Hinata made them promise to have fun without her. The girls kept their promise and had a blast. This time there were no bandits, just some tourists. The two pretty kunoichi were a big treat for the boys their age, but Ino and Naruko only had eyes for each other. They didn't get to go off too often, but as long as they stayed within Inoichi's sensor range, they could go down the beach and into some of the coves.

Soon the beach trip came to an end, and it was time to make their way back to Konoha. After that night vacation, the girls were ready to get back to their training, and Naruko in particular really wanted to get Geppo down.

Their last summer as students went by in a blink of an eye, and before the girls knew it, it was time to enter their last year at the academy.

The biggest improvements the girls made of summer, was that Ino could now use Soru. That was a big step for Ino who had been working for a long time to get there. On the same day that Ino achieved Soru, Naruko finally developed enough leg strength to use Geppo reliably. She could now kick off the air whenever she wanted to. Ino and Naruko celebrated their achievements both with Hinata, where they had dinner together, and with just the two of them.

The girls made it back to Naruko's apartment still giddy from today success. As soon as the door closed, Ino used Soru to capture Naruko in her arms. From there the girls slowly made their way to Naruko's couch. It was there that Ino took their make-out sessions to the next level.

As Ino and Naruko made out, Ino decided to take their kissing up a notch. With that thought, she finally let her hands wander Naruko's body. Soon her hands found their way under Naruko's shirt and to Naruko's chest and her small breasts. Letting out a moan, Naruko leaned into the touch, and deepened the kiss. Emboldened by this Ino let her start to caress Naruko's breasts. Soon Naruko's nipples started to extend and tighten. Which seemed to be a beacon to Ino. Before long Naruko's body started trembling, and as she moaned a kiss, Naruko had a small but her very first orgasm.

W..W..Wow" Naruko panted, "That was incredible."

"I hope I didn't push you to far," Ino said biting a lip. "I know we had talked about going slowly, but I just couldn't wait. I was so excited."

"No, it's okay, I was ready." Naruko said as she finally caught her breath "I would have stopped you if I thought I wasn't"

And with that, the girls now included heavy petting into their make out sessions, and both were happy that Ino had made that first move.

Soon it was time to start school for their last year.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note – The earlier chapters have been fast paced so that we could get almost caught up to canon, but now that we are close, I am now going to start fleshing out the chapters. Enjoy!

It was a bright and sunny Thursday that Ino and Naruko met up at the academy's gate as usual for the start of their last year. After greeting each other with a hug, both girls went in to meet Hinata who was always dropped off early by a branch member of the Hyuga clan.

"Hey girls, are you both ready to start our last year?" Naruko asked Hinata and Ino.

"I am, I can't wait to start my kunoichi career!" Ino replied

"I don't know. It seems so sudden. I don't know if I am ready to be a kunoichi yet." Hinata stated nervously.

"Oh, don't worry so much Hinata. You are strong!" Ino shot back.

"Yeah Hinata, you have really come a long way. There is no reason to look back now." Naruko chimed in.

"I guess you girls are right." Hinata sighed.

"You bet we are!" Ino responded

At this Iruka-sensei walked in followed another chunin, which the girls hadn't seen before.

"Class, this being your final year, I have an assistant to help get everyone ready for graduation. This is Mizuki-sensei a long time friend of mine who just became an academy instructor. He will assist me so that we can focus more heavily on individual improvement." Iruka-sensei said as he introduced Mizuki to the class.

"Thank you Iruka. And class, I hope I can help you all become excellent Shinobi for Konoha." Mizuki said with a kind-hearted smile as he looked around the class.

" _There is something really wrong this guy."_ Naruko thought to herself with a shudder. Because while he was smiling with a kind face, all Naruko could feel from him was miasma of negative emotions. It was so thick, that it was almost hard to read. But Naruko could feel that Mizuki hated Iruka-sensei, couldn't stand them, and despised working under Iruka-sensei. And when he said he hoped they would all be excellent Shinobi, Mizuki felt a dark humor. There was this since that he blamed everyone around him for something.

However it was when he looked at her, that she felt like she was going to throw up. The moment Mizuki locked eyes on her; she felt a massive well of hate that felt bottomless. Soon though she could feel another emotion develop. It was hard to identify at first, the only reference she had was Ino, sometimes Sasuke, and more recently Kiba. It felt like attraction or lust, but where as Ino's lust for her made her feel sexy and happy. This made her feel violated to her core. She felt sick just being in the presence of such a perversion of a feeling she had only felt with Ino.

Soon class got under way, but Naruko was too distracted to be able to concentrate. It was overwhelming, but what she hated most was the smile on his face. It was this giant deception to the world, and all she wanted to do was either get away from him, or reveal him as the monster he was. She could feel his emotions like sticky goo that kept clinging to her. The fact she couldn't do anything about it, is what made it so bad. If this was a battle, it would be one thing, but that fact he was suppose to be a teacher made it all the worse.

To deal with this, Naruko focused as much of her empathic ability as she could on Ino, hoping that Ino's pure emotions would help ground her. It seemed to help a little, but she still felt like she was drowning in Mizuki's emotions.

Lunch couldn't come fast enough for Naruko, that when the bell rang she escaped the bolted for the door. She didn't even wait for Ino or Hinata, hoping they would follow her outside.

"Hey what's up? Why did you run off like that?" Ino asked, as she and Hinata walked up to her.

"I just couldn't stand to be in there another minute!" Naruko exclaimed

"Why, what's going on?" Hinata wondered.

"It's Mizuki, there is something horribly wrong with him." Naruko said with revulsion. "Is emotions are like a rotting sewer." Naruko went on to tell the girls everything that she had felt from Mizuki including the worst part about the demented lust mixed with boundless hate. At this Ino hugged Naruko, and tried to comfort her.

"Ino, Hinata, I don't think I can be in the same room as him again. Once was too much." Naruko confessed.

"Maybe you should go home early. In fact, let's go to my house. My dad should be home soon, and you can tell him all about this." Ino reasoned. "Hey Hinata, could you tell Iruka-sensei that Naruko was feeling sick, and had to go home. If need be you can always tell him she was having feminine issues. Guys never ask more if you give that excuse, I have found out." "Oh, and don't mention anything about this to anyone until my dad hears about it, ok?"

"I can do that." Hinata promised "Just please feel better Naruko, and let me know what Inoichi says."

"We will." Ino assured

And with that, Ino took Naruko back to the Yamanaka family compound behind their flower shop, hoping that the garden there would settle Naruko. Hinata watched the two girls leave with a pensive expression on her face, and promised to herself to keep her guard up around the new teacher.

Soon Ino and Naruko made it home, and Ino took Naruko around back to sit in the garden. They sat in silence for a while to allow Naruko to get her bearings straight. Naruko spent this time basking in Ino's presence, and allowing her love and concern orient her empathy back to an even keel.

"Thanks for taking me out of there Ino, ever since I started to develop this empathy I seem to be able to pull in negative emotions much easier. I have never felt such a negative presence before, but I think the main problems I had with today were both the deceit and lack of an ability to do something about it." Naruko finally said. "But being here with you is helping me think straight again. Your positive emotions really help."

"I am just glad I can help you Naruko, and I will always be here for you." Ino stated with a worried look

"I know you will." Naruko replied, "and thank you again for that."

After that, the girls continued to sit quietly waiting for Inoichi to get home, just being there for each other. After about an hour and a half, the girls heard Ino's father come home, and make his way towards the garden.

"Hey girls, are you supposed to be at the academy?" Inoichi asked with a curious look on his face.

"We were dad, but something serious came up. Naruko needs to tell you what is going on." Ino replied

"Well, you have my full attention." Ino's father said.

"Well Inoichi-san, you know how I have been developing my full spectrum empathy over the last year." Naruko started off.

"Yeah?" Inoichi wondered.

"Well, today in class Iruka-sensei introduced his assistant Mizuki to us, and there is something horribly wrong with him." Naruko stated.

She then went on to describe her experience in class. Naruko mentioned everything from Mizuki's hatred of Iruka-sensei to his dark humor about their futures as Shinobi. She finished off describing Mizuki's deep fathomless hate for her, and then capped off the conversation with the vile feeling of lust Mizuki developed as he looked at her. At that, Inoichi had a dark look cross his face.

Inoichi was silent for a moment, and then he looked at Naruko with a serious look on his face.

"Naruko, normally I wouldn't ask this, and you do have the right to say no. However would you let me view your memories of you class today? It's not that I don't believe you, but I want to get a sense of what you felt for myself. That way I can take this to the Hokage with a full picture." Inoichi stated very seriously "Keep in mind, that I am very good at staying on track in someone's mind, and that anything that is personal that doesn't relate subject in question, I will keep to myself."

"I trust you Inoichi-san. I know you won't abuse that." Naruko said honestly

"Thank you for your trust, I promise not to let you down." He replied "Now, I am just going to sit down in front of you, and I want you to focus on class today. I can do the rest."

"Ok, I am ready." Naruko stated with focus.

With that, Inoichi started his mind walk jutsu, and dove in.

Ino watched on with a pensive look on her face, hoping that her father would be able to help Naruko. Hopefully what he would experience would be enough to take to the Hokage.

After about fifteen or twenty minutes, both Naruko and Inoichi came out of their trance.

"You are right Naruko, there is something horribly wrong with that man. I am truly sorry you had to go through that with someone that you should be able to trust." Inoichi stated. "I plan on going to the Hokage right now, and talking with him about Mizuki."

"Do you think he will believe you?" Ino wondered

"He will once I show him this memory. Because to be honest, I won't let you back to the academy until this is straightened out." Inoichi reassured the girls. "Plus, what I am about to say is to be kept between us, but Mizuki had been under suspicion in the past."

"Thank you Inoichi-san, that really takes a lot of stress off of my mind. I wasn't sure how I could be in the same room as Mizuki for the whole school year." Naruko said

"It's no problem Naruko, I consider you like a second daughter. There was no way I would let that man stay around you or Ino now that I have felt what you did." He replied. "Now, I am going to see the Hokage. You girls stay here."

With that Inoichi headed out to see the Hokage.

"Do think something will get done about Mizuki?" Naruko questioned

"Yeah, with my dad on the case, something has to. He won't let us down." Ino said with confidence.

After that the girls decided to go up to Ino's room and lay down together on her bed and just relax. Before either girl knew it, they had fallen asleep.

Inoichi made it to the Hokage's office in record time, knowing he had to take care of this before any plans of Mizuki's could be set in motion. Plus he couldn't let the girls spend one more minute in his presence.

"Hi Akiko, is the Hokage available, I have some urgent news I must share." Inoichi asked as he walked up to the Hokage's secretary.

"Hello Inoichi-san, you came at a great time, because the Hokage is free right now, if you want to go." Akiko responded, much to Inoichi's relief.

"Thank you, that is a relief. Well have a nice day." Inoichi said as he walked towards the Hokage's office.

After knocking, and hearing an "enter" coming from inside, Inoichi walked in to deliver the news about Mizuki.

"Hokage-sama, I have some urgent news I need to share with you concerning the new academy assistant Mizuki." Inoichi said, getting right to the point.

"Oh, what is going on?" The Hokage wondered now intrigued.

"The girls came to me straight from the academy, and even had leave early because of Naruko's experience." Inoichi started. "If you remember, as Naruko has been developing her sensor abilities she has been also gaining the ability sense emotions."

The Hokage nodded at this.

"Well," Inoichi continued, "Naruko experienced horrible negative emotional output from Mizuki. After hearing both her story and seeing first hand through her memories, I think Mizuki might be a traitor, and there is definitely more that wasn't revealed regarding the earlier incident that Mizuki was cleared from."

At this, the Hokage straightened in his chair, and a serious look came over his face. "Tell me more." The Hokage commanded calmly.

Inoichi went into detail regarding everything Naruko described to him, and included his own observations of the memories Naruko had allowed him to see.

"You see Hokage-sama, there were emotion nuances that I picked up on that a young girl like Naruko with her age and level of experience couldn't understand. And if she had I would have been horrified." Inoichi concluded

"Show me the memory." The Hokage demanded with a thunderous in his eyes.

Startled at the look at first, Inoichi remembered that the Hokage viewed Naruko as his own granddaughter, and after that fast realization he was quick to comply.

Placing his hands on the Hokage's temples, both men fell into a trance, which lasted around forty-five to an hour. This was much longer than it took with Naruko because the Hokage would have Inoichi replay certain portions of the memory multiple times.

Coming out of the trance, the Hokage looked at Inoichi with a murderous look in his eye and with his Killing Intent surging out of control, Inoichi remembered why this old man was the most feared man on the continent for the last fifty years.

The pressure was so intense that Inoichi, a skilled veteran Jonin, could not breathe, and he was about to collapse to his knees. Just before that happened though, the Hokage let up on his Killing Intent, and with deep breath, Inoichi relaxed.

"You are right," the Hokage started "I am glad that Naruko didn't understand the context of Mizuki's emotions, and you won't tell her either. I won't be gentle to the person who destroys my granddaughter's innocence. She should never know her teacher, someone she should be able to trust and rely on, was conspiring to violently rape her." The Hokage grimly finished.

"I understand sir." Inoichi replied

"The other thing I won't abide is someone in the academy with Mizuki's goals. It seems that Mizuki plans on sabotaging the academy student to weaken Konoha. The academy children represent new buds on the tree that is Konoha, and I will not allow anyone to harm that future growth." The Hokage stated with determination.

"GO, arrest Mizuki as a traitor, and bring him to the Torture and Interrogation building. Use whatever means necessary to drain him of information. Find out what his plans are, how he planned to carry them out, and whom he might be working for. If you can find out why, that would be an extra bonus, but at the end of the day I don't need to know the motivations of traitor who could plan the rape of a child. Bring an ANBU squad with you just incase. Oh, and Inoichi, don't worry about being gentle, I don't care about what is left." The Hokage commanded.

With his new orders, Inoichi rounded up an ANBU team and a few ninja from the T&I department, and went to collect Mizuki.

Reaching Mizuki's apartment, the accompanying ninja took up positions while Inoichi knocked on the door. With a few hand signs, Inoichi signaled the ANBU to incapacitate their target the instant they could so as to not give Mizuki a chance to either run and endanger other or take his own life.

Luckily it was Mizuki who answered the door, and before he could even get out a word, he collapsed unconscious.

"Good, let's bring him to room ten." Inoichi stated as he turned to look at his coworkers, "and make sure Anko and Ibiki are there. It might overkill to have all three of us there, but I don't want to miss anything." At that the ninja moved off to complete their tasks.

The ANBU followed them all the way to the T&I building where they deposited Mizuki in room ten. With their job done, the ANBU team left to resume their normal duties.

Inoichi stood outside the room waiting for both Anko and Ibiki to show up, which didn't take long.

"Why do why have a Konoha chunin in room ten, that room is for the hardcore interrogations." Anko asked. "And speaking of hardcore, why do you need all three of us, isn't that overkill."

"Mizuki here is suspected of planning to sabotage the academy, but that wasn't enough to earn room ten plus the three of us. No, this dumb fuck was conspiring to violently rape the honorary granddaughter of the Hokage, Naruko Uzumaki. Who, is both an eleven-year-old girl, and coincidently just so happens to be Konoha's very mentally stable Jinchuriki. As rape is appalling, especially a violent one on a child and isn't conducive to mental stability, the Hokage insisted. And we, are going to oblige." Inoichi stated with an eagerness to get started that Anko hadn't seen in him before.

"Well who am I to deny the Hokage?" Anko questioned with a sadistic smirk.

With that over with, the three interrogators entered the room to begin work on someone unlucky enough to warrant the three of them together.

Mizuki awoke strapped to a chair. The first thing he noticed besides the uncomfortable position was the inability to access his chakra.

"This chair suppresses chakra." Inoichi stated perceptively

"Why am I here?" Mizuki asked with false confusion, while internally he wondered what had happened, and how he was found out.

"Oh don't be coy Mizuki, you know why you are here." Anko started with a seductive, sadistic smirk. "But if you want to keep it a secret be careful because I can be verrrry persuasive." She finished with a purr.

Now starting to get truly worried, because he understood the reputation of each of the three. Mizuki realized he couldn't get out of this. Still having to try once more Mizuki smiled a calm kind looking smile, and said, "I think this must be a misunderstanding, could you please check with the Hokage. I haven't done anything wrong."

Knowing that Mizuki was just trying to buy time, all three smirked.

"Oh Mizuki, Mizuki, Mizuki," Anko said as though chiding a misbehaving child, "Don't you know, it was the Hokage who ordered your arrest."

Mizuki's eyes widened, know realizing how truly fucked he was.

"But enough talk, we only have so much time together, and I wouldn't want you to miss a single second of your time with us." Ibiki finally chimed in with a truly frightening look in his eye. "Besides, you should be honored. No one has deserved the three of us together in a long time. However the Hokage was being generous, and so here we are."

"Let's us begin" Inoichi announced.

What followed would be considered to a sadist, a masterpiece of interrogation. And in fact there were only two hiccups in the hours they spent together. One was of course when Inoichi uncovered Mizuki's plans and desires for Naruko. Luckily they were able to restart his heart. The other hiccup occurred when Anko discovered Mizuki's fondness for Orochimaru. When Mizuki proudly stated that he had received a specialized curse seal, and was in cahoots with the traitor, well like before, they were lucky because that little tidbit almost cost Mizuki his sanity. But they were eventually able to bring the now exposed traitor back to his senses, if only barely.

Soon the three had all the info regarding his plans for Konoha, the academy, and Naruko. The bonus information on Orochimaru simply brought a smile to Anko's face including the revelation of the names of Orochimaru's spies, which Mizuki had known about.

With their work done, Inoichi went to repost to the Hokage, while Anko and Ibiki took care of the trash.

Arriving back at the Hokage's office, Inoichi went in to give his report. There he went into full detail on Mizuki's plans for Konoha, the academy and Naruko. Then he finished with the information regarding Orochimaru and his spies.

"The chief among the spies is a genin named Kabuto. He seems to be Orochimaru's main contact in Konoha." Inoichi finished.

"Interesting" The Hokage said. "It seems my old student is back at it again. I wonder what his goal is this time."

The Hokage then summoned two squads of ANBU, and ordered for the arrest of Kabuto.

"And bring him in alive if it all possible. He needs to answer some pressing questions." Hokage ordered.

With that, the ANBU vanished to complete the arrest of Kabuto by the order of the Hokage.


	7. Chapter 7

"I hope they are cautious." Inoichi stated with apprehension. "This Kabuto might be a genin in rank, but two things worry me. One is that this 'genin' is Orochimaru's top spy in our village, and the second is that while Mizuki knew little about Kabuto's abilities, his memories surrounding him reek of caution and fear. This fear wasn't of a bad report to Orochimaru either, but of Kabuto himself."

"Hmm, I wish you had told me that before I sent those ANBU, but no worries, I can send Kaeru to alert them, so they know to proceed with extra caution." The Hokage said with a nod to the corner of the room, which when the shadows faded revealed another ANBU. This one immediately exited to warn the other.

"Hopefully that can prevent any loss of life." The Hokage stated aloud, and then turning to Inoichi said, "I think your part is done for now at least. You have two girls sitting at your home worried, and cheering them up seems like a much more rewarding job."

At this Inoichi bowed to the Hokage, and said," Then by your leave, I will head home to provided some much needed reassurance."

"I will send someone to notify you when Kabuto is arrested, and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this." The Hokage said as he dismissed Inoichi.

As Inoichi walked back home, he reflected on the day's events and how far the day had gotten of track. _"At least Naruko was there to reveal Mizuki. I shudder to think how much damage a traitor in the academy could do. Though I am sorry Naruko had to experience such a virulent hate like she did, especially at such a young age."_ Inoichi thought to himself. _"Still, though I tried to keep out of personal memories, Naruko's love for Ino shinned like a beacon against the hate of Mizuki, and with Naruko trying to ground herself with Ino's emotions, it revealed that Ino feels the same for Naruko. That wasn't the love of a best friend either. While that was there, the love each girl seemed to feel is a love reserved for those in passionate love."_ Now Inoichi wondered what he should say or do regarding what he had inadvertently discovered about his daughter and her apparent lover. While he cared greatly for Naruko, Ino was his daughter, and she was only eleven. She soon might be twelve and after that, a genin kunoichi, thus an adult, but she was still a child in every other way. _"This messed up world might make children into soldiers, but I will protect her as long as can."_

After promising himself that, Inoichi spent the rest of the walk home in silent contemplation. Arriving home, he called out, but no one responded. He couldn't sense his wife, which means she must be out and about, but he could feel Ino and Naruko in Ino's room. With his previous thoughts still in his head, Inoichi went upstairs to check on the girls.

Reaching Ino's room, he noticed her door was closed. He gave a gentle knock, and after hearing no response decided to peak his head in. Opening the door, he found Ino and Naruko were dead to the world on Ino's bed. He wasn't sure if they had started that way, but regardless, now both girls were facing each other asleep. They were also clinging to each other desperately as though to shield each other from the world.

Inoichi stood there for a few minutes watching the two girls, one his daughter, and the other her lover silently. Finally he closed the door, and then turned away. As he walked down stairs he thought to himself, " _I don't need to do anything. What will come will come, and at least those girls have each other. Which is more than most people can say."_

The Hokage was sitting in his office finishing some paperwork while waiting to hear what had happened with this Kabuto. He looked up when he sensed an approaching ninja. Soon an ANBU appeared kneeling in front of him.

"I assume something went awry. Why is Kuma not giving this report?" The Hokage wondered. "Well report Karasu."

"We approached the target at 18:00 hours sir, but because of your warning my team fell back into a holding position to observe, while Tora's team moved in to take the target. Kame and Ookami died instantly because of a flawless instantaneous kawarimi with a poison mud clone that sprouted spikes. Even if vitals had not been punctured, they would not have made it to treatment due to the poison. Samples of the poison reveal a deadly corrosive neurotoxin. Tora and Uma attacked from flanked positions, however both were unable to deal lasting damage, as the target seemed to be able to heal immediately from any battle wounds. Within a few moments the target used chakra scalpels to deliver severe damage to the hearts of both Tora and Uma. With Tora's team down, we moved in to intercept before the target could escape. Kuma was able to use his Mokuton abilities to prevent the target from escaping underground. While Neko, Inu, and I engaged the target, Kuma attacked from the flank. After several minutes of battle Kuma managed to trap the target in wood tentacles, but was heavily wounded in the process. Knowing that Kuma could hold the target no longer, Neko made the decision to terminate the target before battle could reengage or the target could escape. Neko decapitated the target known as Kabuto." Karasu reported in a measured voice

"What of the ANBU that were injured?" The Hokage questioned. "And is the head intact, and if so, was someone able to preserve it for possible memory extraction?"

"Tora was reached by a medic quick enough that it is possible he will survive, and go on to make a full recovery. At this time I am not sure though. Uma could not be reached in a window of time to be saved, and died of the inflicted wounds. Kuma received deep lacerations from a hooked kunai, but should make a complete recovery fairly quickly. The head was able to be salvaged from the battle, and it was placed in a preserving scroll on time. It is possible some info can still be retained." Karasu concluded.

"Three dead, and a possible forth in critical condition." The Hokage sighed. "Collect the body for study, and burn it when done. Prep the head for memory extraction, and when all that can be extracted is, burn that too. Now go be with your team." The Hokage commanded.

With that, the ANBU disappeared.

As the Hokage looked out of the window, he thought to himself, _"how many must continue to die for your ambitions Orochimaru. If I see you again, I will not be so soft hearted."_

It was the sun peaking through Ino's window that caused her to stir. Blinking at the light, Ino realized that it must be morning because only the morning sun shone through her window. Becoming a little more aware, she realized then how close she and Naruko were. Blushing but never the less smiling, Ino realized that she had never slept this intimately intertwined with Naruko before. Usually if they shared a bed there was still some space between them.

" _This is nice."_ Ino thought with a soft smile gracing her face.

"Hey sleepy head wake up." She said softly to Naruko.

Naruko only slightly shifted before settling back into sleep. Ino then decided on another course of action. Leaning in, she gave Naruko a tender kiss on her lips while strengthening their embrace.

"Mmmm," Naruko mumbled as she started to awaken. "That feels nice."

"I thought that might wake you, sleeping beauty." Ino replied with a smile.

"You can kiss me awake anytime." Naruko encouraged.

"Oh can I now" Ino said with a smirk. Deciding to take such an open invitation, Ino leaned in to steal another kiss.

They kissed for only a few moments before both girls lean back and exclaimed at the same time, "Gah, morning breath!" At which point they dissolved into giggles.

"This is nice though." Naruko said after catching her breath. "The waking up so close to you I mean."

"I know," Ino agreed. "We should do this more often."

Nodding her agreement, Naruko started to stretch herself awake.

"UGHhhhhh!" Naruko grunted as she twisted in a particularly good stretch. Finally feeling a little more human, Naruko pecked Ino on the lips, and then she hopped off the bed to stretch the last kinks of sleep out of her body.

Ino watched with a little grin as Naruko, facing away from her began some deep morning stretches.

"aaaahhhh!" Naruko hissed as she leaned down to touch her toes. "I don't think I have ever slept so peacefully." She said while her hands lay flat on the floor. Finally coming out of the stretch, Naruko twisted her head to look at Ino behind her, and with a wink said, "sleeping alone won't be the same again. I think you have ruined me for life."

Ino laughed while shaking her head in mirth. "That was my plan all along." She finished with humor in her voice.

Finally hopping out of bed, Ino did a few stretches as well. After finishing she looked over to Naruko, "I didn't mean for us to sleep the whole day, but I guess we were so worn out from the drama with Mizuki."

Adopting a serious look, "I wonder what Inoichi was able to do about him, because I can't go to class today if he is there." Said Naruko with a frown.

"I am sure Dad was able to take care of it. There is no way he would let us down." Ino said with confidence.

"I really hope that is true." She replied. Then with a big sigh said, "Well, I guess there is nothing we can do but go downstairs and find out."

"Well, we won't find out unless we ask, so let's go get breakfast then." Ino concluded

The girls proceeded to walk downstairs to find Ino's mother, Akane, starting breakfast.

"Hey girls, I was just starting breakfast." Akane said, and as she turned back to the counter to get cooking, she continued, "Inoichi filled me in last night about the academy. I am sorry such a man was allowed to teach, but girls don't worry Inoichi came through. Mizuki won't be back to the academy again. In fact I doubt you will have to deal with him again. However the full story can wait until your father gets back Ino. He was called away to the Hokage's office earlier this morning, but he should be back soon."

Ino looked over at Naruko while her mother was cooking, "see, I told you everything would be fine."

"Alright, Alright, you were right, and I should have listened." Naruko said with a smile.

Just as Akane was laying breakfast on the table, Inoichi walked in.

"Ahhh, everyone is up, good." Inoichi said. "Well girls, I have some good news. However before I tell you what I can disclose, I need you two to promise me to keep what I tell you between us. The only other people you can talk to about this are the Hokage or someone else in the know. Your classmates need to be kept in the dark about what happened. Now can you do that?" Inoichi questioned.

After both girls agreed, Inoichi filled in the girls with what he could, which while not that much, at least could give the girls closure.

"And you see, thanks to you Naruko, Mizuki was discovered as a traitor and saboteur early on before he could hurt the academy." Inoichi finished.

"But why did he want to do those things? Why did he hate everything so much, why me? Naruko wondered.

It was then that Inoichi realized how lucky Naruko and how brilliant the Hokage had been in hiding her true gender. Because while the citizens and several ninja of Konoha might have hated or disdained Naruto, the transition to Naruko was kept relatively secret. Only a selective few knew the truth at first, and this gave her anonymity and a modicum of protection. Before the village knew the truth, Naruko had already spent a year or two at the academy establishing herself as sweet and kind child. After spending a year or two being kind and getting to know such a girl like Naruko, you would have to be truly stubborn, a complete moron, and finally a genuinely bad person to go back to being horrible to Naruko. Pretty much the kind of person Mizuki had revealed himself to be. Because of this change in attitude in regards to her treatment, Naruko had spent the last five years sheltered from that initial hate. She had probably started putting that lonely past behind her when Mizuki had come along with his abject hatred. Basically Naruko had been caught without the defensives she might have had as a child. Being blindsided like that must have been particularly harsh.

Sighing, Inoichi looked at Naruko, and said, "Truthfully it has little to do with you, but if you think back to your past before the academy, then you can probably guess some of why Mizuki focused on you."

At first Naruko's eyes widen, but then a downcast look came over her face.

Ino, looking back and forth between her father Naruko, finally asked, "Wait, what do you mean Naruko's past? What could possibly have been in a pre-academy student's past that could been behind such an intense reaction."

Sighing again, Inoichi turned towards his daughter, "Ino, I am not allowed to tell you anymore regarding this. Only Naruko can, however I forbid you to push her on this. Only when she is ready can she tell you. Do you understand?"

Gaping a little, Ino looked confused, but nodded to her father.

Sighing a little herself, Naruko turned to Ino, "Look Ino, I need to clear something with the Hokage, but I promise to tell you after that. I also promise I wasn't intentionally keeping something from you; it is just that I haven't thought of this subject in so long, that I honestly had put it out of my mind. It was just something that was sort of in my past, that I had started to let it go."

"Ok, but please tell me soon. If it concerns you, it concerns me too." Ino stated

With that, Akane set breakfast on the table, and everyone ate in silence. After everyone finished, Inoichi looked over at the girls again, and said, "I got so caught up in discussing the Mizuki situation that I forgot to mention that the academy is closed today, and will reopen on Monday. This will allow them to find a replacement assistant. So girls enjoy your three day weekend."

"Well, I guess I will go and see if the Hokage can see me now, and I can see about getting clearance." Naruko stated. Then turning to Ino said, "Would you walk with me to the Hokage's office, then after we can talk about this."

With Ino agreeing, the girls set out to see if the Hokage was free.

Once at the Hokage tower, Naruko led Ino inside and up to Akiko.

"Hey Akiko-san, is Ojiisan in?" Naruko asked.

"Hello Naruko-chan, the Hokage is in a meeting now, but should be free soon. If you can wait, I know he would be happy to see you." Akiko replied

"Ok, we can wait." And with that Ino and Naruko went and sat down in the chairs off to side.

About a half an hour later, the Hokage was finally free, and Naruko walked into his office to see him, while Ino stayed outside with the secretary.

"Hey Ojiisan," greeted Naruko as she walked over to give the Hokage a hug.

After letting go, Naruko brought up why she was there.

"Ojiisan, I want to tell Ino about my past. She deserves to know about the Kyubi. I know you mentioned once that I could tell anyone I wanted, but the actual reason I am here is that I want to tell her about my transformation."

"Naruko, I don't know. While you are free to let her know about the Kyubi, Ino is quite young to know about something so powerful like that Jutsu. What if she mentions this to someone else, or someone questions her. She can't reveal what she doesn't know." The Hokage said to Naruko trying to reason with her about the potential issues this could cause.

"I know Ojiisan, but I trust Ino and so can you. However if it will make you feel better, I can only mention the Jutsu's ability to transform, but stay away from it's true potential. The thing is, Ino deserves to know the truth because I truly love her, and by that I mean I am in love with her." Said Naruko with a look of complete certainty and seriousness, finally revealing to someone else the depth and nature of her feelings for Ino.

The Hokage looked into Naruko's eyes, as if to judge the seriousness of her claims, before simply saying, "Okay."

"Really. Thank you Ojiisan!" Naruko exclaimed with relief as she ran up to hug the Hokage again.

"Just be careful, and Naruko, I am happy that you have found someone that you can love so deeply." The Hokage replied with a smile.

Blushing, Naruko thanked the Hokage, and said her goodbyes so she could have her conversation with Ino.

Walking out of the Hokage's office, Naruko turned toward Ino with a smile. "Come on, let's go back to my apartment and talk. The Hokage gave me permission."

Grabbing Ino's hand with the smile still on her face, she led Ino towards her place for a long talk. All Naruko felt in that moment was a sense of relief that the last secret between them would be gone. She loved Ino and Ino loved her, and as long as that was true nothing could stand between them. While she knew this would shock Ino, she knew neither the Kyubi nor her former gender could get in between them.

Arriving at her apartment, she led Ino in. Still holding her hand, Naruko brought Ino with her to sit on the couch in her living room.

After taking a few minutes to gather her thoughts and find a starting place, Naruko decided to just jump into the tale.

So while Ino continued to hold her hand in a sign of support, Naruko began.

"Ok Ino what I am going to talk about must never be talked about to anyone, not even your parents have the full picture. However, to begin, this story starts a ways back, in fact it started on the day of my birth. The day the Kyubi attacked Konoha. You see the Kyubi didn't just randomly attack our village; he had been here for many years already, just contained. You see the Biju, which is a title for a being like the Kyubi, are masses of chakra, and can't really die. It might seem like they can die, but really it might take a few years, but eventually they reform. I am not sure why, maybe to protect us or maybe to create weapons, the Kyubi and his brethren are, when possible, sealed away. Some into objects, but eventually they are sealed into people. These people are called Jinchuriki, and they are considered weapons in war and also deterrents. Anyway, my mother was the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi. When a woman is a Jinchuriki, the weakest her seal can become is when they give birth. So, on the day of my birth, when my mother's seal was the weakest, the Kyubi was able to escape the seal. I don't know the whole story, but I have reason to believe that the Kyubi was in fact ripped from my mother's seal on purpose, though I don't have more than guesswork and some brief mentions by the Hokage about that night to support that. So once the Kyubi was free, he attacked Konoha, where the Forth Hokage battled, and eventually defeated the Kyubi. However, unlike what is said in the academy, the Kyubi was not killed but resealed. Resealed in fact, into me, and now I am the new Jinchuriki of the Kyubi."

As Naruko took a break from her story, she looked up from where she had focused her attention while talking, which was on their joined hands. Looking up to gauge Ino's reaction, Naruko saw that Ino was silently crying.

Ino seeing that Naruko was looking at her crying said, "I am sorry. It is just I am so sad this had to happen to you. That, and I am pissed at the Forth for sealing the Kyubi into you."

With a small laugh, a relieved Naruko continued her story. "Well he didn't have much choice. The Kyubi needs to be sealed into an Uzumaki because of our strong live force. Anyway there is more. What you don't know, but can probably understand, is that Jinchuriki are not treated well by most. This is mostly true across the continent, and it was true here. Until about a month before the Academy, all I received from most in the village was hatred and disdain."

"What changed?" Ino wondered.

"Well I am not sure if you remember hearing about this, or if I had mentioned at some point, but before I was at the academy the Hokage disguised me to protect me. As the older generation knows, my disguise was that of a boy."

Here Ino's eyes widen with both shock and some humor. Which, if Naruko thought about it, it would be sort of funny to find out your best friend was once disguised as a boy. But she wondered how Ino would react to the truth and not the story everyone else knew.

"However" Naruko continued, "What the older generation knows, which includes your father, is a lie crafted by the Hokage. You see the truth is slightly more confusing. Because the truth is that I was never disguised as a boy. I was in fact born a boy, not a girl." Naruko wanting to get the whole story out, barreled on without allowing Ino to interject.

"Yes, I was born a boy, but truthfully I never felt like a boy. As a young child, I dreamed of being a girl, in my imagination I was a princess just waiting to be rescued from the isolation and disdain that was my life. As I grew older, I tried to focus on other things to distract myself from my masculine form and my dream. So I trained constantly, and as you know I gained an amazing level of control at a young age. I had learned and mostly mastered the Academy Three well before I was supposed to start the academy. Well when I was six I was allowed to leave the orphanage that I lived in to move in here. Unfortunately the village outside the orphanage wasn't any kinder, and in many ways I was treated much worse. So to escape that treatment, I started leaving my apartment using the henge to assume various forms. I found that people treated me with the most consideration if I took form of a girl, the cuter the better. Soon I was spending almost every minute I could transformed into a girl, that it started to become uncomfortable to see my image as that of a boy. When I could no longer put aside my former desires to be a girl any longer, I started to research ways to assume a permanent female form. However I could find no technique that would allow me to do so, especially with the library access I had as a pre-academy student. So I decided to make my own technique. Discovering the possibilities of Yin Yang Release, I determined that was my best bet. Luckily, I had an almost instinctive understanding of Yin and Yang, later I found out this was due to the fact I am a Jinchuriki. Well soon I created a technique, and after practicing as much as I could, I finally made the plunge. After many months of work, I had finally become my true gender." Here Naruko paused again. "My life became better everyday, because soon I joined the academy, where I met you. I have never looked back. Now you know the complete truth of who I am."

For a while neither girl said anything until finally Ino said, "Naruko, I have always know the truth of who you are. This conversation, well, let's say it just filled in a few blanks. That is it."

With that, Naruko moved in way that can only be called a lips first lunge.

***Author's Note: Well I killed off Kabuto. I debated to myself for a while what to do about him, but like I said in the summary. There will be ripples, and this was one of them. Let's see how that changes the entire Naruto story line.

***Author's Note 2: Thank you for all the great reviews. I read all of them, and while it might take a while to respond, I appreciate them nonetheless. Thank you also for the story ideas, and don't worry Naruko will continue to evolve as both a person and a Kunoichi. Just stay tuned for the next chapter. Thanks.


	8. Chapter 8

** Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who has stayed with me so far. I have ideas/an outline for the direction of this story, so don't worry about the story just stopping or running into a dead-end. Also, I want to apologize for the spelling and grammatical mistakes. I have dyslexia so sometimes it can be hard for me catch those mistakes, but please bear with me. I will try my best to be more vigilant about catching those mistakes, and I will try to go back fix past chapters.

** Author's Note 2: A few of the reviewers wondered about Ino's last comment to Naruko in chapter 7. What Ino means, is that Naruko's story won't change anything between them. In Ino's mind all Naruko did was tell her something about her past, but nothing that would cause Ino view Naruko any differently. Naruko thought she had been lying to Ino the whole time, and Ino was reassuring Naruko that she wasn't. Being born a boy doesn't change how Ino sees her now, to Ino it is interesting but nothing more.

Now back to the story.

Naruko continued to passionately kiss Ino for several minutes. While she knew in her head that Ino would accept her, her heart still worried. It was such a relief to know that Ino had accepted her past, and that going forward there would be no secrets between them. So, she decided to convey her happiness and relief with as much passion as she could pack into this searing kiss. After several minutes of this, Naruko finally pulled back with labored breath.

After a moment to gather enough breath to speak, Ino panted out, "Wow that was intense. Not that I mind being kissed like that, but what did I do to deserve that."

"You were being my beautiful, awesome girlfriend, and I thought you deserved to be rewarded for being so accepting." Naruko replied with a big smile.

"Naruko, not only are you my girlfriend, but you are my best friend and I love you. There is almost nothing you can do that could stop me from accepting you." Ino said seriously.

Naruko replied by simply gifting Ino with a beautiful smile, followed by a tight hug.

After a long moment holding each other, the girls finally separated. Ino then looked over at Naruko with a thoughtful face.

"Naruko, now that you know you can talk to me about anything. Can I ask you some questions?" Ino asked

"Sure. Go ahead and ask away. I will try my best to answer everything I can." Naruko replied.

"Well, I guess the first question is, what does it mean to be a Jinchuriki? Are there any advantages or disadvantages besides how someone might treat you?" Ino wondered.

Naruko thought about it for a minute, and then start talking, "Hmm, well, as for advantages, there is the fact that the Kyubi's chakra is constantly mixing with mine. This means that my chakra capacity is constantly expanding. This is both a blessing and a curse though, because while I have huge reserves that replenish themselves very fast, I have to also constantly practice my chakra control to keep my reserves under my control. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to perform many types of jutsu, and those that I could, would be done wastefully. That is why I am constantly practicing with new chakra control training ideas. Some you have seen like balancing senbon on my fingertips or using water control to pull water out the atmosphere, then creating a chakra shell around it to make chakra water balloons. Recently I have learned to apply fire natured chakra to the water inside the shell to create boiling water. I even put some tea leaves inside to brew some tea, and then I can drink the tea straight out of the shell. Which, by the way, was hard to manage at first, because I had to learn to create an opening in the shell without destabilizing the entire structure. Another project of mine that I don't think I have shown you is that I have been buying some children's dolls that have full articulation of their bodies. Then I have been practicing chakra puppetry. Using chakra strings and the reinforcement technique to infuse chakra into the dolls, I can make them come alive. I can make the dolls fight, but by far a harder task is to make them dance. Twirling the dolls around each other without disrupting the individual chakra strings was extremely hard to manage."

"Wow, I didn't know you could that. I would love to see the dolls dancing sometime." An impressed Ino commented. "How do you have time to practice so much? Oh wait, Kage Bunshin, right? That is so unfair." Finished Ino with a jokingly grumpy look on her face.

"Ha, well my exploitation is both due to my nature as an Uzumaki and because of my Jinchuriki status. As an Uzumaki, I have extremely large reserves and naturally dense chakra. However like I mentioned the Kyubi does replenish my chakra quickly, but the main aspect that helps with Kage Bunshin, is that fact that the Kyubi's extremely potent Yang chakra is sealed in me. That Yang chakra helps to revitalize and heal my body, which means I don't get mental fatigue from excess Kage Bunshin usage. The Yang chakra also allows me to physically train harder and faster than a girl my age normally could without stunting development. Finally the Yang chakra has one final advantage. As you know girls usually have more Yin chakra than Yang, while boys are the opposite. Well ever since I completed my transformation, the Kyubi's infusion of Yang chakra helps increase my own, which means that my Yin and Yang are in almost perfect balance naturally. This really helps with chakra control." Naruko finished saying.

"Wow, I still wish you hadn't had to be a Jinchuriki, but at least you get something out of it." Ino commented, and then thinking asked, "Another question I just thought up is, have you ever communicated with the Kyubi?"

"Just once the day of my transformation. The pain of a full body transformation knocked me into the mindscape of the seal." Naruko replied.

"What was he like?" Ino wondered.

"Well, honestly he was extremely aggressive. I am not sure if that is the natural state of the Kyubi, or if he has different moods like humans." Naruko said.

"Hmmm, have you ever thought to try talking to him again?" Ino inquired.

"Not really. You see that was so long ago, that I had put it out of my mind. Plus I wouldn't know how to reenter the mindscape of the seal without trying extreme pain, and I don't really want to hurt myself to talk to the Kyubi." Naruko answered.

"You know, I could teach you some Yamanaka meditation techniques that we use to both create and enter mindscapes." Ino offered.

"Are you sure you can do that? Won't Inoichi be upset at you showing an outsider your clan techniques? Also, how come you are so interested in me meeting the Kyubi?" Naruko asked.

"Well first, these aren't secret techniques. We actually do share them with other ninja for various reasons, and I guess the reason I am so interested is that, I am curious about the mind and personality of such a powerful being. Maybe it is a Yamanaka thing to be curious about the psychology of something different than us." Responded Ino.

After thinking a minute, Naruko finally said, "Ok, I guess we can give it a shot."

With that, Ino started to instruct Naruko on how to clear her mind, and on how to fall into a mindscape. After some breathing and thought exercises, Ino got up and walked into Naruko's kitchen to grab few candles and a couple of sticks of incense from a cabinet. Coming back to the living room, she setup the candles and incense.

Lighting the candles and incense, Ino started to coach Naruko, "ok, I want you to start the proper breathing that we practiced. Next I want you to breath in the scent of the incense, and let it relax you. Ok, now I want you to focus on the candle light. Watch how the flame dances on the end of the wick. Look at the smoke of the incense and how it drifts past the flame of the candle. Good, now keep that focus while maintaining your breathing."

Ino let Naruko continue these exercises for half an hour, and then quietly and calmly said, "Ok, now let the concept of the seal's mindscape float into the forefront of your mind. Focus on that thought, and then let yourself fall back into the mindscape."

Half listening to Ino, Naruko did what she coached, bringing the idea of the seal's mindscape into her mind, she imagined herself falling back.

The next thing Naruko became aware of was that she was in the sewer again.

"I wonder why the inside of the seal is a sewer?" Naruko pondered out loud.

Deciding that she might as well get started, Naruko once again made her way deeper into the sewer. Eventually she came to the room with the cage again. As she walked into view, she saw the Kyubi laying down inside the cage.

Walking up to the cage Naruko looked at the Kyubi for a moment, and then finally said, "Hello."

" **I see you are back."** The Kyubi said with little interest. **"The question is why?"**

"You seem a lot more mellow than last time." Naruko replied, ignoring the question for the moment.

" **You would be angry too if you had experienced what I just had. One moment I am in your mother's seal, and then I am ripped out. Finally free, I turned to leave the area, but before I could, that damn Uchiha put me under a genjutsu. When I am finally released from that, I see I am about to be sealed into a baby. I tried to kill you to stop that, but your parents stepped between us. Then, I am ripped apart and pulled inside you. I was hibernating, trying to recover from having my Yin half ripped from me. Then, before I had recovered, I awaken in pain by you stealing my Yang chakra to play with your very DNA. Foolish human, your chakra network is tied to my chakra. When you grabbed my Yang chakra like that, you linked us and created a painful feedback loop. So yes, I was angry. You are lucky I have had five years to calm down. Now I will ask again, why are you here?"** The Kyubi explained, finally ending with the same question.

"I didn't realize you had felt my pain when I transformed." Naruko said. Then exclaimed, "I was right! You were ripped from the seal by an outside force. Do you know who did it?" Naruko wondered, then realized she had been asked a question again, said, "And honestly I didn't have a reason to come here except curiosity. My girlfriend wondered about you, and not knowing anything, I agreed to talk with you again."

Sardonically the Kyubi replied, **" I am glad I am a source of interest to a human child."** … **"Now that you are here, what do you want?"**

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk." Naruko replied with a shrug

" **Nothing? I find that hard to believe. You humans always want something. You are a greedy race, always wanting our power."** The Kyubi said with scorn.

"I am being honest!" Naruko exclaimed. "I was just interested in finding out more about you. I have no desire for your power. I want to become strong on my own merits, not because I took someone else's power."…"I am curious about you though. What can you tell me about yourself? I mean you have been around a long time, and are an intelligent being. So you are bound to be interesting. Another thing, is the Kyubi your name? It seems more like a title than a name. Do you have a name?" Naruko wondered.

" **We will see, you humans always desire power. However I have no interest in telling you about myself, and of course I have a name. You won't be getting it though, because you aren't worthy of knowing my name."** The Kyubi grumbled out.

"Hey! Why not!? We should totally get to know each other!" Naruko exclaimed. "I mean with this seal we will be together for all of my life. If we are stuck together we might as well get to know each other. Now that I know you didn't attack on purpose, we should become friends"

" **Friends, Ha, I have no desire in becoming friends. Plus, I might not have attacked your village on purpose, but I did kill your parents."** The Kyubi said to discourage her.

Naruko looked down for a moment in sadness, but eventually she raised her head and looing the Kyubi in the eye said, "Well you didn't mean to kill them, right? I mean you were after me. So, it was an accident, and I can forgive you. Now let's be friends!"

Shocked, the Kyubi was silent for several moments. However eventually his cynicism reasserted itself, and he turned his head away. Then snorting, he flared his chakra enough to push Naruko of the seal.

" _ **Humans will never change. It doesn't matter what one little girl says, eventually she too will be same as the rest of them."**_ The Kyubi thought. _ **" I just don't have your faith in humans, father. They have never proven themselves able to live up to your dream."**_

Ino kept vigil over Naruko while she was focused inwards. In had been several minutes now, and Ino was curious how everything was going. Because of her training with her father in the Yamanaka techniques, Ino knew that time wasn't relative inside a mindscape. Someone delving inwards could find that hours inside their mind could be seconds in the real world, or they could find just opposite, where a few moments inside could be hours outside. The other issue Ino thought could be relevant was that in this case, Naruko wasn't even traversing her own mindscape, but some sort of joined space between Naruko and the Kyubi. Because of these issues, Ino was going to stay watching over Naruko until she was back to herself. She just hoped it wouldn't take several hours.

Thirty minutes later, much to Ino's relief, Naruko came back to herself with a blink.

"Whoa, that was strange." Naruko stated as she looked around.

"What's strange?" Ino wondered, though if she had guess, she assumed that Naruko meant the disorientation between the world of the seal and the real world.

"Just being in one place, when all of a sudden you pop into being in another." Naruko responded.

" _Nailed it!"_ Ino thought to herself, but out loud she said, "Yeah, it definitely can be strange, if you aren't ready for it."

"I wonder if I will get used to it." Naruko said more to herself than Ino.

"If you keep doing this, then you probably will." Ino replied. "So, how was it? Did you meet with the Kyubi, and was he any better than last time?" Ino wondered.

"Well, It wasn't that much different than last time, except this time, I knew what was going on. I did encounter the Kyubi, and he was much more talkative. He even explained the reason he was so mad last time. Apparently the Kyubi had been in some sort of hibernation since the day he was sealed, and my transformation created some sort of feedback loop because I accidently used some of his Yang chakra in addition to my own."…"Hmmm, I wonder if that is why I look like I do instead of what I had planned to transform into?" Naruko questioned.

"It's good that the Kyubi is a much more rational being than first thought. Though what do you mean about a planned form?" Ino asked, somewhat intrigued.

"Oh, well this isn't the appearance I had developed to be my permanent form. You see, I had carefully put together a series of features to create my female form. A form that was going to be my new appearance, however the way I look now is what happened instead. I had never understood what went wrong, because all of my test runs had been perfect. The Kyubi's Yang chakra might explain the difference. Since Yang chakra is the breath of life so to speak, maybe using a supernatural being's more powerful breath might have created a difference." Naruko explained.

"So you think the Kyubi is responsible for your unearthly beauty?" Ino wondered.

"Unearthly beauty?" Naruko questioned.

"Yeah, everyone might have gotten used to it by now, since we have seen you grow up, but come on, even you have to know that your appearance is too good looking." Ino expressed with exasperation.

"Huh….I guess I just don't really look at my self that much in comparison to others, I mean I know that I am attractive, but I didn't realize there was such a difference." Naruko said a little dumbfounded.

"Naruko, your skin practically glows, and I don't mean that figuratively. I mean literally almost glows. When you stand in certain light, sometimes it actually does." Ino said feeling like pulling her hair out. _"Most women would kill to look almost as good as Naruko does."_ She thought to herself. _"I love Naruko, she might even be my girlfriend, but damn do I feel jealous sometimes."_

"Ummm, wow I never knew that." Naruko finally said in response.

"Anyway, to get back on topic, I talked to Kyubi, and I tried to befriend him. However he didn't seem to want to be friends. I think I will keep nagging him though, because if we are going to be stuck together the rest of our lives, it doesn't make sense to be at odds with each other." Naruko told Ino.

"I am glad you are positive about this." Ino said.

"Well that is the only way to be." Naruko replied. Then hearing a grumble from her stomach said with a slight blush, "How about we go get lunch, and walk around a bit."

"That sounds good to me." Ino replied.

After getting up and getting ready, the girls went out for lunch. Walking around they tried to decide where to go. Naruko wanted ramen, but Ino who didn't, just kept reminding her that they had ramen the other day. Finally agreeing to try something new, the girls went into a restaurant called Yakiniku Q, which was a Gyu-Kaku otherwise known as a restaurant that specializes in barbecue.

After the meal, that Ino made Naruko admit was delicious, both girls just causally walked around the village holding hands. Neither girl had any desire to train today, and since a day off here or there wasn't going to hurt, they decided to skip their training. While walking they found themselves close to the Hyuga compound. Naruko pulling Ino along with her, made her way up to the compound gate, where she asked if Hinata was in. The branch member on duty told the girls to wait while he notified Hinata. In just a few minutes, the girl in question came to the front.

"Hey Hinata, we wanted to come over to say hi, and let you know everything was alright." Naruko cheerfully said.

"I am glad you stopped by, because I was really worried about you yesterday. I had wondered why we had the day off, and was hoping you might be able to tell me." Hinata said.

"Oh, well we can't say much. You see, we promised Ino's father we wouldn't talk about what happened, and on that note, could you not say anything about it either. However since you will find out anyway, I guess we can say that Mizuki won't be teaching come Monday. " Naruko replied

"Oh, I am really glad. It really disturbed me to hear what you had sensed from him, and you can count on me to keep it quiet." Hinata responded.

"Thanks Hinata, you are the best." Naruko said with a smile.

"So, what are your plans the rest of the day?" Hinata asked.

"We are not sure, but the plan so far is to take the day off and relax. We were just going to walk around the village." Ino said in response.

"Oh, well it is too bad I can't join, but I have to hang out with my sister Hanabi. However you both have fun." Hinata commented.

"We will." Naruko said while Ino chimed in with a, "Bye!"

And with that, the two girls continued their walk around Konoha. During their walk they stopped in several stores to try on clothes, and they even ate some dango as a snack instead of dinner. Soon, the evening approached, and the girls had to decide what to do next.

Ino turning toward Naruko with an intense look in her eyes said, "I want to stay with you tonight. Let's stay at your place."

"Alright." Naruko said with a nervousness she had never felt before. "But we need to let your parents know, so they don't worry."

"We can stop by on the way to your place." Ino commented.

So on the way to Naruko's apartment, Ino peaked her head in at home to tell her mother not wait up, because she was staying over at Naruko's. And with a "Have fun" echoed back, the girls made their way to Naruko's place.

They made their way up the stairs and towards the front door. As Naruko went to unlock her door, she noticed her hand shaking. Feeling nervous, but not really knowing why. _"Maybe it has something to do with the look Ino keeps giving me."_ Naruko thought as she unlocked her door. Letting Ino go in first, Naruko followed behind. Turning to secure the door behind her, Naruko felt Ino behind her.

All of a sudden Ino grabbed Naruko to spin her around; startled Naruko was pushed up against the door. Trapping Naruko between her body and the door, Ino dove in for a searing kiss.

Moaning, Naruko let Ino take control, which Ino was only too happy to do. With there bodies pressed tightly together and Ino's lips on her's, Naruko felt Ino's tongue seeking entrance into her mouth. As the girls' tongues touched, Naruko once again felt Ino taking control. She was pushed, still being kissed intensely towards the bedroom.

This was a first, because the girls had never fooled around in the bedroom before. Nervous, Naruko let Ino guide her anyway. Entering the bedroom, Naruko was pushed onto the bed, Ino following behind her onto the bed. As they kissed, Naruko could feel Ino undoing the buttons of her blouse. Nervous but excited, Naruko shifted to allow Ino to remove her shirt.

Ino's hands roamed Naruko's upper body until they reach the clasp of her bra. Pausing for a moment incase Naruko wanted to stop her, she heard Naruko moan a yes into her mouth. Unclasping the bra, she slipped it off of Naruko's body. Feeling the air against her small breasts, Naruko's nipples tightened. Once again Ino's hands moved across Naruko's body, this time to caress her budding breasts. No more than an A cup, but it was enough for Ino. Finally breaking the kiss, Ino slowly nibbled her way down Naruko's chin and to her neck. She heard Naruko moan, as she continued to nibble and kiss her way down Naruko's neck to the crook. There she gently sucked on the flesh, and then gave a playful bite much to Naruko's enjoyment if the shiver and moan was any indication.

Ino shifted slightly so that her thigh gently pressed in between Naruko's legs, while she kissed the crook of Naruko's neck. A deeper, fuller moan was Ino's reward. Soon Ino couldn't wait, and gently nibbled and kissed her way down to Naruko's A cup breasts. She let her tongue lightly lick one of Naruko's nipples, much to the girl's pleasure. Then gently taking the nipple into her mouth, she gave it a light suction. While working on Naruko's breasts, she felt Naruko slowly move her lower body up and down her thigh. Soon Naruko was moving at a gentle pace against her thigh.

Ino could feel Naruko's need now, as Naruko pressed harder into her, while tightening her legs to clamp onto Ino's thigh. With one hand gently kneading Naruko's left breast, she applied more suction to the other. As Naruko started to arch into her, she lightly bit down on Naruko's nipple, causing Naruko's body to orgasm. Ino shifted so that she could hold on Naruko while the girl's body shook.

Naruko continued to shake for several moments, and even as her body calmed down, little shakes would rock her body every few seconds.

Ino gently held Naruko while the girl came down from her powerful orgasm. Naruko held onto Ino tightly and buried her face in Ino's neck. It took Naruko almost five minutes before she had enough strength and where with all to speak. Finally catching her breath, she smiled into Ino's neck with a glazed smile.

"That was wonderful Ino. I have never felt my body respond like that. I thought the other times were great, but that was a whole other world by comparison. Not that I am complaining, but what was that for." Naruko finally said.

"I just wanted to show you how much I loved you." Ino replied with a smile.

At that, Naruko just planted a loving kiss on Ino's neck, and then settled into Ino's embrace.

Naruko needed a little while to recover, but eventually she had enough energy to return the favor much to Ino's pleasure. Soon the positions were reversed, and it was Naruko who held Ino as she shook.

Their evening activities really tired the girls out, and soon both girls, bare down to their panties, fell into the bed properly. Naruko and Ino snuggled into each other as they lay in bed, and soon both girls were asleep.

The next morning, Naruko awoke to the chirping of the birds outside her window. With a smile she settled deeper into Ino's embrace. She couldn't imagine a more perfect way to wake up, and she hoped this could become a regular occurrence.

Not long after she awoke, Naruko felt Ino start to stir. Turning in Ino's arms, the other girl watched as Ino woke up.

Ino opened her eyes to see her girlfriend's mesmerizing blue eye gazing back at her. _"I could get used to this."_ She thought with smile.

"Ryo for your thoughts." Naruko offered.

"I was just thinking about how much I enjoy waking up with you, and how I could get use to it very easily." Ino replied

"I was thinking the same thing just a minute ago." Naruko said with a smile.

"Mmmm, I could lay in bed all day." Ino sighed happily.

"Unfortunately we can't, or at least I can't. I have my weekly Fuinjutsu lesson with the Hokage." Naruko said with a pout.

"Oh, buck up, you know you love learning about Fuinjutsu." Ino laughingly chided Naruko.

"I definitely do, but not as much I love you." Was Naruko's cheesy reply.

With a snort, Ino gave Naruko's butt a nice smack. Jolting in Ino's arms, Naruko faux glared at Ino in response.

With a giggle, Ino untangled herself from Naruko's arms, so that she could make her way to the bathroom. Walking into the next room, Ino could feel Naruko's eyes on her panty clad behind. Pleased that she could turn her girlfriends head; Ino went to freshen up. Returning a few minutes later, she saw that Naruko was getting out of bed. Now it was Ino's turn to watch Naruko. Happy with the view, she mentally thanked the Kyubi's part in Naruko's body, because her girlfriend wasn't even twelve and already she had a figure. With a shake of her head, Ino went to finish dressing.

Naruko was finished a few minutes later, and the two girls made their way into the kitchen to fix a light breakfast.

After breakfast, Naruko prepped her sealing supplies, that way she would be ready in an hour to meet with the Hokage.

Soon it was time to make her way to the Hokage's office. Giving Ino a nice goodbye kiss, the two girls made their way out of Naruko's apartment. Once down on the street, the two girls parted ways for the morning, Promising to meet up after lunch for training, Naruko walked toward the Hokage's office for lessons.

It didn't take long, and before she knew it, she was sitting down with the Hokage. Waiting for the Hokage to finish up a little bit of paperwork, she pulled out her sealing journal.

Finally done, the Hokage turned toward Naruko, and said, "Naruko I am glad we could meet today. I wanted to congratulate you. Due to your hard work, I feel you are ready to move on to the master level of Fuinjutsu. I would be surprised at how fast you got to this level, but with your lineage and the abuse of Kage Bunshin I guess you are the perfect candidate to learn Fuinjutsu."….."Now the master level is different to the levels before it. There isn't really a good way of gauging how one get's to the grand master level, but it is something that happens naturally as the practitioner masters everything in this level. Now the master level focuses on two major aspects in Fuinjutsu. One is creating truly amazing and original seals, and the other is mastering how to form seals without ink and paper. The seals you will need to create need to involve the major forces of this world, those of time and space, and life and death. Your father's Hiraishin is an example of this. Though he actually didn't invent it. He altered and improved it to new level."…."Now that you are at this level, it is time to give you part of your heritage. What I am talking about is access to Mito Uzumaki's sealing library. Only the Hokage or an Uzumaki of sufficient skill is allowed to access this library. You won't be able to remove the books and scrolls, but you can take notes."….."Now let's begin."

After a riveting lesson on master level Fuinjutsu, Naruko made her was into Mito Uzumaki's library to look around. Before she knew it had been an hour, and her mind was blown. There was still so much to learn it seemed. Realizing she needed to get lunch before training, Naruko made her way home to eat and change.

Meeting up with Ino and Hinata at their training ground, Naruko enthusiastically told the girls about her lesson. Bemused the girls nodded, and made the appropriate noises while Naruko gushed. Then it was time to train.

Naruko wanted to try a new form of chakra control. It involved placing a long nail through a board. Then once the board was on the ground with the long nail's point facing up, Naruko would then balance above the nail in a one finger handstand.

"There are a few tricky parts to this." Naruko explained. "You see to maintain this pose, you have to subtly reinforce your body to allow for a one finger handstand, you then have to maintain perfect balance. However the hardest part is the way you hold yourself over the nail. To avoid impaling your hand, you have to create a chakra point on the tip of your finger. This chakra point needs be dense enough to support your body weight, and compressed enough to fit on the end of the nail."

After creating dozens of Kage Bunshin, Naruko let them get to work. After first none of clones could maintain a chakra point with enough density, but eventually one clone could. After that clone dispelled, the other clones had a much easier time. Well until it came to maintaining balance, but by the end of the day Naruko could hold herself above the point of a nail for two minutes. Naruko's goal though was an hour, so she had a long way to go.

In this way the girls passed the weekend, with Naruko trying to stay steady above a nail, and the other two continuing their own training.

Soon it was Monday, and time to go to the academy. Naruko was curious what the others would think about Mizuki being gone, and who would replace him.


	9. Chapter 9

It was Monday, and Naruko was walking to meet Ino. Ino had stayed over both Friday and Saturday night, but spent last night at her parents' house. Naruko was feeling pretty tired. She didn't get a lot of sleep last night, with all the tossing and turning she did. _"I missed Ino last night. I guess you can get used sleeping with someone pretty fast."_ Naruko thought.

Today was the day that academy was reopening from the Mizuki incident. None of the students would actually know the truth. To them, Mizuki simply wouldn't be back to teach, and a new teacher would take his place. This is how Naruko wanted it. She didn't want the attention the truth would bring. _"Hopefully the new teacher is screened better than Mizuki was."_ Naruko sarcastically thought.

Soon the academy gate came into view, and with it the lovely sight of her girlfriend, Ino. Walking over to give Ino a hug, Naruko noticed that Ino looked about as tired as she did.

"You look as tired as I feel." Naruko knowingly said.

"I feel it too. Who knew you could miss something you have only done twice." Ino replied with a pout. "I really missed holding you last night."

"Me too, we will have to figure something out. I can't go missing my beauty sleep." Naruko shot back with a wink.

"Beauty sleep is the one thing you don't need. I bet you can't even get bags under your eyes." Ino grumbled with some humor.

"Ummm, oh look the academy is about to start. We should go in." Naruko mentioned to try and distract Ino.

"Oh my god, it is true, isn't it. You CAN'T get bags under your eyes." Ino cried out in frustration.

Sweat dropping a little, Naruko just silently led her grumbling girlfriend into the academy.

Once inside they met up with Hinata. After telling her good morning, all three girls grabbed a seat.

"I wonder who will replace Mizuki?" Naruko whispered to the other two girls.

"I don't know. My dad didn't tell me who the academy head master picked." Was Ino's reply.

About this time, Sakura walked in to find her seat. "Hey, does anyone know why Friday class was canceled?" She loudly asked the class.

"Who cares.?" Kiba cried out. "You won't hear me complaining about a surprise free day, right Akamaru?" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Well, some us like class, dog brain." Sakura shot back.

"Hmph, you would." Kiba mocked.

"What was that?" Sakura shrieked, much to the dismay of Kiba, if his wince was anything go by.

However before Kiba could say something back, Iruka-sensei walked in, and shouted, "Quiet!"

Once the class settled down, Iruka-sensei went on to make some announcements. Finally getting to the Mizuki part, all he said was, "Finally, Mizuki was injured Thursday night, which was why class was canceled on Friday, and he will no longer be an academy assistant."

"Will we get another assistant, sensei?" Sakura asked, interrupting Iruka-sensei.

Iruka continued saying, "I was just getting to that, so please don't interrupt. Anyway, the girls are already familiar with my assistant. She was teaching one of the kunoichi classes, but now is moving onto general Shinobi lessons. So let me introduce Ayumi-sensei."

With that introduction, in walked a beautiful kunoichi. Ayumi-sensei at only twenty years of age was a true beauty, and Naruko could tell that several of the boys in her class were aware of this fact.

"Hell Yeah!" Kiba exclaimed. He even pumped is arm in excitement, causing several girls to sweat drop.

"Thank for the introduction Iruka-sensei." Ayumi-sensei said. "Class, I am really glad for this opportunity, and I can't wait to work with you. My hope is that by working together, I can help all of you become truly splendid Shinobi."

Naruko, who already liked Ayumi-sensei, could tell she was being genuine. Ayumi-sensei, Naruko could feel, truly wanted to see each and every one of them succeed.

Iruka-sensei now stepping forward said, "Ayumi-sensei will not only assist me this year, but will also work with the Kunoichi of this class. She will offer those kunoichi who are interested, some extra lessons."…"Now class, let's get started on your final year"

Just before the bell for lunch was set to go off, Ayumi-sensei announced that she would stay during lunch to talk with the kunoichi of the class.

Soon the bell was going off, and the ninja were heading out, while the kunoichi stayed behind to hear what Ayumi-sensei had to talk about.

"Ok girls," Ayumi-sensei started off. "Now that I am free to help out just one class, I have more free time to focus on kunoichi lessons. I wanted to offer you girls some special lessons that you might not receive until you were older, but I think starting early couldn't hurt."

"What kind of lessons, sensei?" Ino wondered.

Ayumi-sensei continued by saying, "regular kunoichi lessons here at the academy are designed so that you girls can blend in. Things like flower arranging and tea service. Information that civilians might know, but that as girls growing up to be Shinobi, you might never have been exposed to. The lessons I am offering are more advanced kunoichi lessons. These lessons will focus on seduction and counter-seduction. The lessons are not mandatory, and in fact several kunoichi do not ever learn these techniques. However since I have the time, I thought why not."

Several of the girls started talking amongst themselves, while Naruko and Ino just looked at each other for a moment before both girls nodded.

Smirking Ino said, "this could be fun, and who knows where we be able to use these lessons." And with that she gave Naruko a sexy wink.

Blushing a little, Naruko agreed. With both girls decided on taking the lessons, they walked up to Ayumi-sensei to put their names down. However it seemed they might be the only ones though. Hinata simply told them that as the Hyuga clan heir, she would never be allowed. Not only were her eyes too distinctive, but also her clan was filled with prudes. Several of the other girls were too embarrassed to take such lessons. It seemed that while most girls in the class wanted to win the affections of Sasuke, they were much too embarrassed to learn the skills required to actually do so. Even Sakura chickened out, or as she put it, "I wouldn't want learn those lessons, and then be given _those_ kinds of missions." However both Naruko and Ino understood that a tool was a tool, and that it might save their lives one day. " _Plus it could be fun to learn how to seduce."_ Both girls thought.

After the other girls left for lunch, Naruko and Ino stayed to talk to Ayumi-sensei, who told them they would meet during lunch hour. To start off they would meet two to three times a week, and then possibly as needed once they started to master the material.

"We will start tomorrow, during lunch. So come prepared to learn." Ayumi-sensei told them.

Thanking her, and promising Ayumi-sensei they would give it their best, Naruko and Ino left to join everyone else for lunch.

Both girls were curious about the lessons they would start with Ayumi-sensei, and also a little disappointed with the other girls in their class. It seemed that besides Hinata, who had a valid excuse, the rest of the girls were still not taking being a kunoichi seriously.

So the next day when the lunch bell rang, the two girls eagerly followed Ayumi-sensei to a small classroom down the hall. There, Ayumi-sensei began their instruction in seduction.

Ayumi-sensei first began by explaining what they would learn, and it was a long list.

"Ok girls, the aims of seduction training is of course learning how to get close to a target, either to gather information, capture, or eliminate a target. To do so requires a wide array of skills. First, you will learn target acquisition. By that I mean, what type of seduction works, because I will tell you, everyone has different desires. From the sexpot to the conversationalist, you girls will learn to act and dress the part. This includes everything from body language, clothes and makeup, and even poetry and current events. Not only are men and women different in their desires, but also even inside gender lines will you find that different seduction techniques will work. I will start bringing books on poetry, novels, and newspapers so that you can learn to participate in interesting conversations. We will also cover certain techniques. These techniques will range from medical jutsu that help release powerful pheromones, genjutsu that alter the target's perception to make them susceptible to seduction, and even a whole range of pressure points to control a target's mind and libido. You will learn to project different demeanors through body language, because some targets like the meek and others like the seductress. I will say though, that once we begin, you are to be careful on who you use these techniques on. Those pressure points for example could allow you to turn a target into a quivering wreck with just a few casual caresses, so I don't want you using them for fun on your fellow ninja. Now, there will be time you will practice on some of your fellow ninja, but only because I give you permission. Now let's get started."

What followed was an interesting discussion on how to transform themselves to match their targets preferences. Ayumi-sensei showed them how simple body language could convey different signals. Soon it was time for the lesson to be over, and the standard classes to begin.

Walking back towards their normal classroom, Naruko turn to Ino and said, "I can't believe those girls are going to miss this because they are embarrassed. This stuff is both extremely interesting and extremely important. Even if you never take a seduction mission, these skills have several different application besides seduction."

"I know, but what can you do, besides Hinata, none of our female classmates are taking this seriously, and even then I think Hinata could use these lessons. I mean not once did Ayumi-sensei say we would be forced to use this stuff. You almost think those girls believe this class is just about sleeping with a target. I bet, unless we actually wanted to do so, you would never even have to. I mean just trap the target in a genjutsu that makes them think they are having sex or something."

With that, the girls made it back to class to listen to Iruka-sensei's by comparison, boring lecture.

The next few weeks fell into a rhythm. During the day the girls would have regular class with Iruka-sensei, and during lunch they would meet up with Ayumi-sensei. At first she had planned to meet at most three times a week, but the girls were able to convince her that because they were the only two taking the extra lesson, they could move much faster meeting up everyday. Which they were, because over the next three weeks the girls had advanced much farther in the material than Ayumi-sensei thought they were capable of. What she didn't know was that Iruka-sensei's classes were boring. He wasn't covering anything that was either new or interesting to the girls. So they concentrated on perfecting the skills that Ayumi-sensei was teaching.

What Ayumi-sensei didn't know was that they were perfecting the skills on each other, and with a willing participant, each girl was able to advance much quicker. Naruko, having shadow clones was of course able to get the techniques down at a rapid pace. Even Ino benefited, because she wasn't afraid to try the pressure points out on a clone. It certainly made their weekends more interesting; with each girl trying to out seduce each other. Of course they had to be careful, because if they weren't, the girls would end seducing each other to complete distraction and never get anything done. Naruko's favorite combination was jutsu that released powerful pheromones and a double-layered genjutsu. The first layer of the genjutsu made the target very susceptible to seduction and induced arousal. The second layer caused both an enhancement effect on her beauty and caused those she focused on to be captivated. The second layer made it extremely hard for a target to look away, but when Naruko, who already had supernaturally good looks, used that technique, it became impossible. Truthfully, Ino thought this was complete overkill. When Naruko used the double layered genjutsu on Ino, she became like a dog wanting to please her master. However when Naruko added the pheromone release, she became almost like a puppet, and would do anything Naruko wanted. The pheromones that Naruko released were so powerful, that Ino actually felt drunk, or what she assumed being drunk was like. It even took her some time to shake off the effect once Naruko stopped using the technique. Ino blamed the Kyubi's Yang chakra during Naruko's transformation for her powerful pheromones. Not having any other answer for why her pheromones would be so powerful, Naruko agreed.

Ino's favorite combination was triple layered genjutsu and the use of certain pressure points. The genjutsu that Ino used, built off of Naruko's double layered one, but added a certain harmonic effect to her voice. When active this effect caused the target to become almost hypnotized in arousal. When Ino seductively whispered in her ear using this effect, it was all Naruko could do, not to give in and offer herself to Ino. Depending on the tone that Ino used, it spoke to something either primal or submissive inside of her, and sometimes Ino could do both at once. Using the pressure points allowed Ino, with deceptively simple caresses to turn her into a panting puppy. The light taps Ino was learning allowed her to activate pleasure centers, and release euphoria inducing hormones. All together this was a devastating combination.

After experiencing the effect of the vocal genjutsu, Naruko wanted to add it to her combination, but Ino forbid her from practicing it on her. Already the pheromone effect took time to get out of her system. She was honestly afraid of what would happen if Naruko added that third effect to the genjutsu. Already Naruko could make her do anything, but what would happen if her voice was added to the mix. Ino didn't know. However she wasn't keen on something permanent happening to her brain while she was so susceptible, and somehow ending up Naruko's permanent slave.

Today was Ino's birthday, and thankfully it was also Friday. Both girls wanted to show off their progress to Ayumi-sensei. Ino also wanted to get a second opinion on Naruko's pheromone release. It was too powerful, and she was hoping there was a way Naruko could learn to turn down the effect.

Their lunch meeting with Ayumi-sensei gave the girls the chance they wanted to show off. Ino went first, and Ayumi-sensei was very impressed. The only advice she gave was to learn to master the genjutsu so as to make the effect subtler. Because Ino still needed the hand seals, she had to approach from an angle that the target couldn't see. Ino promising to keep working on the techniques, stepped aside for Naruko chance.

Though before Naruko started, she and Ino explained the power of her pheromones, and asked if there was a way to control the release.

"Let me see the technique first so that I gauge what needs to be done." Ayumi-sensei said. "And Ino, why don't stand back against the wall, if the effect is going to be too strong."

Getting the signal to begin, Naruko, who thanks to the Kage Bunshin, no longer needed the seals, started the effect.

Ayumi who had decided to not try to fight the effect of the genjutsu at first, so as to give Naruko some practice, wasn't aware when the technique started. Waiting for the technique to begin, her mind began to wonder. Looking over at her student Ayumi wondered to herself, _"How did I never notice how beautiful she is? Maybe thinking of myself as just her teacher made me blind to how attractive she. But being her teacher might be fun. She could be the pupil needing guidance, and I could be the teacher to teach her they ways of the world. No, I can't, she is too young, but…She will be an adult at the end of this school year. Is it really that bad? Maybe I can wait. I might not even have to though. If you think about it, you are her seduction teacher; she will need some practical lessons."_

Looking over to Ayumi-sensei, Naruko could see her eyes starting to glaze over, and decided to add a little extra humph to the effect. Subtly changing her posture to a more attractive pose, and biting her lip, Naruko in her most seductive voice asked, "Sensei, I am having some trouble in class. Would you be able help me? I can stay after school, or you could come over to my place."

At this point Ayumi could feel herself moistening at the fantasies she was having. _"Oh Naruko, I can definitely come over to help you. I could teach you so many things. You can be my star pupil."_

Now getting really creeped out by both the really perverted look on her teacher's face, and the emotions she could feel Ayumi-sensei putting out, Naruko decided to end the technique. However it seemed that Ayumi-sensei was still trapped by her pheromone induced high, if the glazed look and lustful emotions were anything to go by. Realizing she need to snap her teacher back into reality, Naruko grabbed her bottle of water from her lunch, and splashed Ayumi-sensei in the face.

Sputtering, Ayumi-sensei seemed to snap out of it.

"Sorry sensei, but you were starting to creep me out." Naruko apologized.

Taking a few moments to get her bearings, Ayumi slowly came back to her senses _"Damn, what was I thinking. She is eleven years old, and I am wet thinking about having my way with her!"_ Ayumi thought to herself, but out loud she said, "Damn that is one powerful technique. Ummm, maybe you shouldn't use it on people until you learn to moderate your pheromone production. I can give you a few tips on how to do that, but most of it will be trial and error. Because I will tell you, most people's pheromones aren't that powerful, that is why the technique causes such a boosting effect. Your pheromones though, seem to be supercharged."

"See I told you. They are way too powerful. You can't even fight it." Ino exclaimed.

"Yes, I understand now. Now why don't you girls finish lunch, and then get ready for Iruka-sensei's class. I have to go take care of something. Oh and Happy birthday Ino!" Ayumi said, while thinking, _"I can't believe I need to change my underwear. Thank god, I have a spare pair in my locker."_ With that Ayumi-sensei left them to finish eating.

"I wonder what Ayumi-sensei has to do, to cut our lesson short?" Ino wondered.

Feeling somewhat bad, Naruko let Ino in on what she picked up from their teacher. "When I was using my technique, I could feel that she was becoming extremely aroused and lustful. That must have really freaked her out that she felt that way about a student. Because when she left, I could detect heavy shame."

"But that's not her fault! Your technique is just freakishly powerful!" Ino exclaimed.

"You know that, and I know that. Does she? I mean when you and I use seduction techniques against each other, the feelings we feel are normal. We are both the same age, and you and I are dating. Ayumi-sensei is both our teacher, and almost a decade older. I am sure once she has had time to think about it, she will calm down. Until then, we should let her recover." Naruko explained

"Yeah, that makes sense. Well, let's hurry up and enjoy lunch. Class is about to start soon, and I don't want miss anything. The last thing we need is a couple of detentions on my birthday." Ino said.

After class, the girls made their way to Ino's house. The Yamanaka's were planning to hold the celebration not long after they got back from school. With them came Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji.

Arriving home, Ino called out to let her parent know she was home. Hearing a call from the garden, the group made their way to it. There she saw that her parents had set up some decorations. It was mostly the usual gathering at her birthday. Her parents were here along with their friends. In fact the only person she didn't recognize was a woman with purple hair wearing a trench coat.

Walking over with Naruko to introduce herself to this new person, she saw that the woman was eating some dango from a tray full of them.

"Hi! I am Ino, and this is Naruko. I don't think we have met, so I thought I would introduce myself." Ino said as she walked up.

"Hey! I am Anko!" The now identified Anko said, introducing herself.

Anko, it turned out, seemed to be as positive and energetic of a person as Naruko was. Soon the two of them were thick as thieves. Ino just shook her head at how outgoing Naruko was. She seemed to just draw people in. It was gift. Leaving her girlfriend to talk to Anko, Ino made her way around the party, thanking guests as she went.

Back with Naruko and Anko, they were really getting along. So good in fact, they already had planned to grab dango together tomorrow, followed by some training. Anko it seemed was interested to know what her new friend could do. Most people that she encountered that were Naruko's age gave off a certain feeling of inexperience or weakness. But Naruko on the other hand felt strong, even as an academy student. It was both the way she held herself and the feeling of how controlled her chakra was. Together it gave off a feeling of strength. She might hate her former sensei, but damn if the bastard hadn't trained her to be able to determine those of worth.

Before long the party was wrapping up, and the guests were leaving. It wasn't too late, not even dinner in fact. So Ino and Naruko decided to head out for dinner. As the two girls walked out, Ino turned back to tell her parents not to wait up, and that she would spend the nights at Naruko's apartment.

Out of view of her parents Ino shot Naruko a salacious grin that made her spine tingle, and said, "Why don't we grab food, and eat it at your house."

Knowing Ino as she did, Naruko knew that if they followed Ino's idea, there would be no eating of food involved. Not wanting to go hungry, Naruko was able to convince Ino to grab a quick bite to eat on the way.

They had barely made it inside before Ino pounced. Naruko was caught off guard by how amorous Ino was being. Breaking the kiss for a moment, Naruko asked, "Not that I mind, but what has gotten into you tonight?"

"Even though I was standing in the far corner of the room, I was caught up in your seduction technique along with Ayumi-sensei. I am still feeling hot and bothered, and unlike her, I don't mind having my wicked way with you." Ino replied.

And with that, Ino pinned Naruko against the wall to do as she had promised, and have her wicked way with her.

The girls awoke the next morning in each other's arms; just way they liked it to be. Feeling proud of herself, and still wearing the satisfied smile she had fallen asleep with, Ino gave Naruko a gentle peck on the lips.

"So what do you have to do today?" Ino wondered.

"Well, besides my normal Fuinjutsu lessons at the Hokage's office, I am meeting up with Anko for lunch. Then we planned to train together. Which, by the way, you are more than welcome to come with me." Naruko answered.

"I thought you were working on your master level in Fuinjutsu, why do you need to still go every week to the Hokage's office." Ino asked. "Oh, and I would love to come."

"Well, I need access to Mito Uzumaki's library, and I can only do that at the Hokage's office." Naruko responded.

"Oh, that makes sense." Ino said.

"Yep, and on that note, as much as I would like to stay in bed with you, I have to get up." Naruko said as she slowly extracted herself from Ino's arms.

Ino gave an adorable little whine at this, which Naruko rewarded with a gentle kiss, before she made her way to the bathroom.

Sighing a little, Ino turned in bed to face the ceiling of Naruko's bedroom. _"I really love mornings like this. I just hope this can last forever."_ Ino thought to herself.

Still feeling too relaxed to get up; Ino lay in Naruko's bed while Naruko was getting ready for the day. Soon she could hear the shower running. _"As much as I really would love to join Naruko in the shower, the thought scares me just as much. I don't think I am ready to go that far yet."_ Ino pondered internally. Because while the two girls had bathed together before, once they had started to become intimate with each other, they both decided to put that on hold until they were ready to go that far. So far, neither girl had taken the last step in intimacy, and disrobed completely during their moments together. The farthest they had gone in each other's presence was down to their panties, and neither felt ready to take it to the next level. Ino knew the time would come, probably sooner rather than later, but right now the thought made her both nervous and excited. However she was more nervous than excited about going to that ultimate level, and promised herself that until excitement outweighed nervousness, she would not go farther than the extremely heavy petting the girls had been experimenting with.

Soon she could hear the shower turn off and Naruko getting out. Ino listened as the almost silent footsteps of her girlfriend approached the bedroom. She looked down from contemplating the ceiling as Naruko walked in. Ino could feel her mouth go dry, as Naruko walked in still glistening wet from the shower, wrapped in only a skimpy hand towel around her waist.

"I must have forgotten to wash the bath towels when I did laundry the other day." Naruko complained with a gesture towards the hand towel that barely made it around her waist.

With a dumb look on her face, Ino just nodded. _"Maybe I was premature in promising to wait."_ She thought to herself once her brain restarted.

Shaking her head to clear her racy thoughts, Ino was able to get her libido under control, and said, "So where should we meet for lunch?"

"Well, with how much Anko loves dango, we agreed meet at that dango and tea house downtown, just off of the main shopping street. You know the one I am talking about. We went there the other day." Naruko replied.

Ino just nodded in acknowledgement. Looking over, Naruko wondered out loud, "Are you going to stay in bed all day?"

"Maybe just for a little while longer. I don't know when you got this new mattress, but it is way too comfortable. I think I might lay in bed forever." Ino said dramatically.

"Huh, I didn't get a new mattress. Don't you remember me telling you I designed a seal for my mattress? The seal combines both a cushioning effect with a firming effect, thus making it the perfect balance for a mattress. I even added an effect that will release gentle pulses throughout the night to relax the muscles in the body." Naruko explained. "I was pretty sure I told you about this."

"What?! I definitely would have remembered that conversation! First chance you get, you will add this to my bed!" Ino ordered in frustration.

"Okay, Okay. Don't yell, I can do it later this weekend. Maybe tomorrow." Naruko said to placate her irate girlfriend.

"Well try to not stay in bed all morning. I do want you to join us for lunch and then training." Naruko said as she picked up her supplies.

"I will make it." Ino promised.

"Okay, well, have a good morning, and I will see you at lunch." Naruko said. Then with a goodbye kiss, she made her out of the apartment. Wanting to spend as much time as possible in the library so that she could take advantage of her clan's legacy, Naruko quickly made her way to the Hokage's office, only stopping to grab a quick snack at a convenience store.

Walking in to the Hokage's office, Naruko greeted the Hokage, "Hey Ojiisan!"

With a sigh and a smile, the Hokage said, "You know, I am not really an old man anymore."

"Well, since I am the only other person who knows that, I don't want to give it away. Just think of me calling you Ojiisan, as helping keep your secret." Naruko said with a smirk.

With a chuckle, the Hokage just nodded.

Walking over to give her honorary grandfather a hug, Naruko asked, "Before I get absorbed in Mito's Fuinjutsu library, I did want to ask you something."

"Oh? What did you want to know?" The Hokage wondered.

"I was just curious if you were able to make any headway on what I told you a few weeks back. You know, about what the Kyubi mentioned. I wondered if you had any luck identifying the Uchiha who ripped him from my mother's seal, and sent him to attack the village." Naruko said with curiosity.

"No, I haven't made any progress yet. Going over the records of both that night, and of the Uchiha clan in general. I can't find any evidence that it was an Uchiha living in the village. Though I am hesitant to ask this of you, could you inquire with the Kyubi about what he remembers of that night?" The Hokage asked of Naruko.

"That is no problem. I have been meaning to make my way back into the seal, so that I could talk to the Kyubi. I just haven't had much time recently to focus on it, but maybe I can do so either later today, or tomorrow." Naruko said.

"Well, have fun in the library. I need to get back to this paperwork. It never seems to end." Hokage said with a sigh.

"You know, I understand why you never used Kage Bunshin as an old man. That level of chakra consumption could have shortened you life span, but now that you are revitalized internally, I don't get not using the Kage Bunshin to help with paperwork." Naruko causally said as she walked toward the library.

Looking back as she entered, she just laughed to herself as she saw the Hokage banging his head on the table in frustration.

Naruko spent the next few hours riveted in Fuinjutsu research. She was reading up on the aspects of Yin and Yang release in combination with medical seals. Naruko hoped that she could one day create a seal using the knowledge of her transformation jutsu. The possibilities were endless in the medical profession. She had been able to alter her own DNA. The Hokage had been able to transform his insides into that of a younger man. Not everyone had that control or the ability to use Yin and Yang, but if she could make a seal. Would she able to transform a dying person, into a healthy body? Maybe not even that extreme, because what about replacing limbs or organs that had been damaged. She didn't know yet, but that was why she was researching.

Naruko, while reading up on medical operations had discovered the Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu or the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique. This medical ninjutsu incorporated Fuinjutsu into the technique. Using both a large seal and a portion of the target's body, such as hair, a team of medical-nin could regenerate large wounds. There were caveats to this though; this technique couldn't replace whole organs or limbs. The technique mainly was used to fill in holes, so to speak. Naruko wanted to use the technique's Fuinjutsu as a base, but she wanted to vastly expand on it.

The problems this jutsu had were numerous. Not only was the written seal huge, but also the technique required five trained medical-nin to perform the operation. This was unacceptable to Naruko. She hoped to not only be able to shrink the Fuinjutsu, but also find a way to operate the technique with at most one person.

Her end goal was actually to make this technique autonomous. One day she wanted to create a seal that could be placed on the person. That seal would gather chakra passively, and then when needed activate to reform the body. The challenges to this were numerous. Naruko needed to create several seals and then combine them into one, which could then be compressed. First, she needed a seal that would gather Yin and Yang chakra. Next, she needed to create a seal to store that chakra. After that, she needed a seal to map the healthy body's DNA, so as to have a guide map. Then once she had all of that, she needed a seal to automatically detect life-threatening wounds with an added manual function. All of this would be difficult by itself, but then she actually had to create a seal based off of her Yin Yang release transformation, to link to the previous seals. Once she had that, she would need a seal to direct the focused transformation. Finally after all of that, she would need a way to compress all of this, so that it could fit on a person, and not take up every square inch of skin.

It would be a work of genius, but she was determined to one day create such a seal. Naruko was just thankful for Kage Bunshin; otherwise it might take her entire life to develop this seal. Naruko did have other plans for her life, besides sitting in a room trying to develop one seal. Thankfully Mito's research library had a section on Yin Yang release. It seemed that while not everybody could use this release, anyone sufficiently skilled in Fuinjutsu could work around that. Naruko hoped that within a year or two, she could have a passable trial version created. To anyone else, it might take anywhere from ten to as much as thirty years of research, but of course using a team of ten to twenty clones a day for several days a week, would significantly shorten that timeframe to something Naruko could live with.

Soon Naruko realized that it was almost time for her to meet up with Anko for lunch. So, putting away the scrolls and books she was using, and sealing up her research, Naruko walked out of the library. She looked over to say goodbye to the Hokage, and sweat dropped at what she saw. It seems the Hokage had taken the use of Kage Bunshin to heart, because she saw that the original was asleep on the couch, while a clone was doing paperwork.

Walking over to the clone, Naruko said, "Well Ojiisan, looks like I am done for the day. Oh, and don't get too lazy using the Kage Bunshin." Giving the clone a hug goodbye after getting the Hokage's clone to promise not to be too lazy, Naruko left to meet Anko.

Walking up to the dango shop, Naruko noticed that she was a few minutes early. Not having a problem with waiting, she walked inside to find a table to fit the three of them. Sitting down, Naruko notified a waitress. Putting in an order for some green tea, she decided to relax while waiting on Anko and Ino to arrive.

Naruko had just taken her first sip of tea, when she sensed Anko and Ino walking down the street toward her. It seemed they had noticed each other, because she could feel them stop to chat to each other. A couple of moments later, Naruko could feel the two begin walking her way, this time together.

Before not too long, she saw Anko pull the curtain back for Ino to walk in. Following behind her, Anko let Ino lead her over to Naruko.

Anko watched in curiosity as the two girls hugged in greeting. Then after letting go each other, Naruko turned towards Anko.

"I hope you don't mind, but I invited Ino to join us for lunch and training." Naruko said explaining Ino's presence to Anko.

"That's what I figured, and don't worry, I don't mind. The more the merrier." Anko said with a smile.

"So Anko, what did you get up to today?" Naruko wondered.

"Well, I had some paper work, that I needed to get done with for the interrogation department. But that didn't take too long. After that, not too much, I actually had a pretty relaxing Saturday for a change." Anko explained. "What about you two?" She asked.

"Well, I was studying Fuinjutsu theory in the Uzumaki library at the Hokage's office." Naruko said in reply.

"As for me, well, I spent a leisurely morning in bed, and then got up to take care of a couple of chores for my parents." Ino said chiming in.

"Hmm, I didn't know that there was an Uzumaki library in the Hokage's office." Anko said.

"Not many do, and even if they did, it wouldn't be any help. The only people allowed in, are the Hokage, past and current, and also Uzumaki clan members that are of sufficient Fuinjutsu skill. I, only recently earned access to the library." Naruko explained.

Nodding in understanding, Anko turned toward the waitress who had just walked over. Placing her order, she turned to see both Naruko and Ino with shocked looks on their faces.

"What?" Anko said a little defensively.

"Nothing, it is just, that is a lot of dango. I mean, I don't think kunoichi should ever diet. With our lifestyles, we burn through a ton of calories. But you better not keep it up, unless you want get fat later in life." Naruko commented.

"Oh, who ever heard of a fat ninja?" Anko brushed off.

" _Pretty much every single Akimichi clan member."_ Both Naruko and Ino thought, but out loud they just let it go.

After taking Naruko and Ino's order, the waitress left to the girls to their conversation.

In not much time at all, the food had been brought out, and the three Kunoichi started in on their lunch. Soon the conversation was back in full swing.

"So what kind of training do you want to do today?" Anko wondered.

"Well, I am not sure, I was think we could spar, but after that, I don't know. How about this, since you have a lot more experience, could you evaluate us, and let us know where you think we should improve." Naruko proposed.

"That sounds good, I wanted to spar with you anyway, and after I could point you in the direction I think could be best for you." Anko said, agreeing to Naruko's ideas for the day.

"Thank you, that would be a big help." Ino chimed in.

As lunch went on, Anko continued to observe the two girls in front of her. Putting everything she had observed together, Anko reached a conclusion.

"You two are dating, aren't you?" Anko stated bluntly.

At this, Ino snorted tea out her nose, much to Anko's humor.

"What makes you say that?" Ino finally got out.

"Oh, you can't fool me. Not only am I a top-notch kunoichi, but I am also one of the head interrogators in the village. I am trained to notice this stuff. Don't get me wrong, because I don't care. I was just curious." Anko commented

"Yes, we are dating." Naruko confirmed. "I know in this day and age, there is no stigma attached to homosexual relationships. However we have been keeping it a secret. Not because we are somehow ashamed, but for two reasons. One, we are not even out of the academy yet, and we don't want any hassle over being called 'too young'. The second reason is that Ino is the clan heir to the Yamanaka, and while I am pretty sure that her parents don't care. I don't want the rest of the Yamanaka, mainly the elders in her clan, to pressure Ino into breaking it off to date a man." Naruko finished.

"Don't worry, I won't give you any trouble over it. I just wanted to make sure you didn't think it was somehow shameful." Anko commented.

"Thank you. We are not ashamed of our feelings for each other. Like Naruko said, we just don't want the hassle." Ino replied with gratefulness.

"Well looks like we are all done. Want to head out of here and make our way to a training ground?" Anko proposed to the group.

"Sure." The girls replied.

After closing out with the waitress, the three made their way to a training ground, so that Anko and Naruko could spar.

Arriving at a training ground, the three kunoichi started warming up. Soon Anko and Naruko stood across from each other.

"Anything goes, okay?" Anko proposed.

"That's good for me." Naruko agreed.

For a moment neither girl moved, and then Anko wanting to test Naruko, to see if the girl lived up to her expectations, charged forward. Not going full out, nonetheless Anko blurred forward. She decided to launch a kick at the girl's head, to see how Naruko would counter. Anko was feeling a little disappointed that she overestimated Naruko, because it looked like the girl wouldn't be able to react in time. However just as the kick connected, Anko realized that she hit an after image.

Landing on one foot, Anko pivoted around just in time to block a kick from Naruko. Sliding back a bit from the force of the kick, Anko was impressed. It seemed the girl wouldn't disappoint.

Realizing that she needed to step it up a notch, Anko increased her pace from a lower middle chunin to above the speed of a middle level chunin. With a burst of speed, she appeared near Naruko. Coming in from an angle, she punched toward Naruko's appendix. The blow had the potential to rupture the vestigial organ. Luckily Naruko was able to block. Snapping her elbow out, she was able to intercept the blow. The effect Naruko's block had on Anko was obvious, her whole hand hurt. Shaking her hand to get the feeling back, Anko reengaged.

Ino watched on, impressed that Naruko was doing so well. She knew Naruko was strong, but to be holding up at this level was awesome. To Ino, this spar looked like a dance, just one at hyper speed. She watched as the two blurred back and forth across the training ground.

Really getting into the fight, Naruko decided to step it up. Using Soru to disengage for a split second, she then used Soru again, this time coming in as fast as she could from the right. Throwing out a single punch using the full speed of her Amaguriken, she targeted Anko's diaphragm. Focusing on speed instead of strength was part of her fighting style, and using the inherent vulnerability of that region of the body, she hoped disrupt Anko's ability to breathe.

The speed of Naruko's attack surprised Anko, who hadn't expected Naruko could go that fast. That allowed Naruko's punch to blow past Anko's defense, and strike Anko's diaphragm. Sent tumbling, it was all Anko could do to roll back to her feet. Using the roll to try to disengage, and seeing spots from not being able to breathe, she therefore she wasn't prepared when Naruko blasted her off her feet the second she had popped back up. Sent flying, Anko landed on her back.

Anko lay there for over a minute, trying to get her breath back. _"Damn, that was a good combo. I wasn't expecting her to be this good. If I had known I would have taken it seriously from the beginning. Still that is no excuse to be caught off guard. If she were an enemy, even though I am stronger than her, I still would be dead."_ Anko thought to herself. Finally being able to breathe again, she stood up.

Looking over at Naruko, she wondered how the girl had hit her from that far away. The pace of the fight was simply to fast for ninjutsu, at least at this level.

"What did you hit me with at the end?" Anko decided to ask.

"Oh, that was taijutsu move called Rankyaku. It allows me to kick the air so hard and fast that it launches the air away. I can use it as a sweeping kick to create a blade of wind, or with a pushing kick to create something like a blast or bullet of wind." Naruko explained.

"Damn that is impressive. But don't you mean a Nintaijutsu?" Anko wondered.

"Nope, you see the Rankyaku is pure kicking power, and therefore I can use it instantly without having to use Nature transformation, which might take a second to activate and alert my opponent, and also not deplete my chakra to use. I can throw wind attacks all day without draining an ounce of chakra, well as long I have leg strength." Naruko said to an impressed Anko

"Wow, that is like a ninja's wet dream." Anko replied "But it must take tremendous leg strength."

"It does, in fact it took me years of training to get this far. I had originally thought about cheating and using wind natured chakra to supplement my kicking power. But I figured that it would hurt me in long run, and now I can use an attack most ninja won't see coming." Naruko said with pride.

"That is really awesome! Who taught you this Rankyaku?" Anko wondered.

"Well, I actually created the attack from reading a manga I really liked." Naruko admitted to Anko.

At this Anko started laughing, much to Naruko's embarrassment, if the blush was anything to go on.

"Well, have you invented anything else?" Anko wondered after she stopped laughing

Embarrassed but proud, Naruko explained Soru, Geppo, and the Amaguriken. Anko of course wanted a demonstration, and was extremely impressed by what Naruko showed her.

"There are a few things I am still trying to learn or create. In the manga, one of the characters was able to combine Soru and Geppo to move freely in a three-dimensional environment. That character could literally run on air. That move is called Kamisori. Another move, from a different manga, is called Kijin Raishuu Dan, which is similar to the Rankyaku, but with my arms. The main difference though, is that the Kijin Raishuu Dan uses two arms to sort of pull the air apart to create a vacuum blade, and a vacuum blade could cut through a fire natured attack unlike a wind blade." Naruko explained.

"Damn, those sound really impressive. Well, good luck!" Anko said cheerfully.

Anko and the girls spent the next couple of hours sparing. Followed by going over what they knew and where they wanted to go from here.

After hearing about the fact that the girls were wearing resistance seals, and hearing about Naruko's speed goals, Anko advised Naruko to pick up a wakizashi. Anko explained that a wakizashi would be perfect for her because it was both faster and more maneuverable that a katana, and that it would allow her slash an opponent and then move on. The kunai, Anko explained, was a great all around weapon but required the user to be closer, which opened you up for attack. The Forth was able to get away with it because he could literally teleport away.

"I can actually show you the ropes, because I use to use one when I was younger. My bastard of a sensei taught me, though I haven't used one in a while." Anko offered.

For Ino, Anko advised the study of senbon usage. If she had talent with it, she would be able to target pressure points that could freeze an opponent, therefore allowing her to use her family jutsu without needing a Nara.

"I can even teach you the use of poisons, to vastly increase your ability with senbon." Anko offered Ino.

"Other than those things that I can teach you, keep doing what you are doing, and you will turn out great. We can even meet up for occasional spars if you want. That way I can judge your progress outside of training." Anko finished up saying.

With that final offer, Anko mentioned that she had to head out, but that she wished the girls luck. Naruko, inspired by the day, decided to up her resistance seals to the next level. This level would feel more like moving against a current than just wading through still water, like her seals felt like now. After upping the seal, Naruko was really feeling the results, so she decided to go for a run around the training ground to get a feel for the seal.

After several laps with the occasional burst of Soru, Naruko was drenched in sweat. Deciding that she was done for the day, Naruko ran through a cool down, while waiting on Ino to finish up her training. Then when both girls were ready, they made their way to Naruko's apartment to take some showers.

Ino let Naruko go first, because she definitely looked like she needed a nice hot shower. Hearing the shower turn off, Ino got up to take her turn, when once again she was dumbfounded by her view. Naruko, just like this morning was wrapped in only a hand towel. As Naruko walked by, she apologized to Ino for still not having any towels.

" _She has got to be doing this on purpose!"_ Ino thought once she came back to herself.

Taking a quick shower herself, Ino found that Naruko was indeed correct, and there were only hand towels. Deciding that turn about was fair play, she decided to give Naruko a little tease.

Walking to Naruko's room still glistening from the shower, and wrapped in only a hand towel around her waist, Ino called over to Naruko, "You really need to work on having your laundry done." She teasingly said.

When Naruko looked up, it was her turn to become dumbfounded. Nodding to Ino's statement, she thought to herself, _"Hell no, I don't think I will ever wash my bath towels again! It this is the result, I might even throw them out."_

The next two and a half weeks went by pretty quickly. With the schoolwork combined with the additional seduction work, the academy took up a lot of time. If you added the additional training to their schedules, you would realize that Naruko and Ino had very little free time.

As for seduction training, Ayumi-sensei eventually got over her embarrassment at getting turned on by Naruko's technique. This allowed the girls to once again begin learning new concepts. They had started reading poems from various famous poets, because sometimes to seduce you had to appeal to the mind as much as the libido.

Naruko was still having trouble controlling her pheromones, though Ayumi-sensei's tips seemed to help. Ayumi-sensei had Naruko hold off on practicing on her, so her only partner for that aspect was Ino. Ino could tell that Naruko was coming along though, because she seemed to feel less drunk as time went on. However Naruko wanted to develop the ability to create subtle interest instead of the hit you over the head effect her pheromones seemed to cause now.

She also stopped using her pheromones at the academy, because even though they were in another classroom, it seemed that Kiba could pick them up. While it might be funny to watch Kiba drunkenly walk into a wall over and over again. It was also dangerous. For a few days after that episode, Kiba acted aggressive around her. He even started picking fights with any of the boys who looked at her. He apologized a couple of days later, once he came down from the effect. Naruko felt too bad to tell him it was her fault, but there on out, she decided to not practice near Kiba.

Before she knew it, it was her birthday, and Ino was throwing her a party at her house. Naruko showed up to the Yamanaka's house in a nice dress, ready for a great party. Everyone was there already. It seemed that several of their classmates had shown up. Naruko was excited to see Anko there as well.

She got some great gifts, but the best so far, was the wakizashi that Anko presented her with. Anko even promised some lessons soon, which she couldn't wait for.

The Hokage even turned up at some point to give her a gift and a hug.

Since it was a Monday night, and the girls had school in the morning, the party had to end early. Soon Naruko was back at her apartment getting ready for bed.

" _I can't wait for this weekend. Anko promised me some wakizashi lessons."_ Naruko thought to herself as she got into bed.

Before long, Naruko was fast asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

" _It seems,"_ Naruko thought to herself, _"that when you are really excited for an upcoming event, that is when time passes the slowest."_

Naruko had come to this realization during class on Wednesday. She was even beginning to suspect that life was conspiring against her because of how boring this week was shaping up to be.

" _I mean, Ayumi-sensei gets the Flu before our lunch meet up on Tuesday, then because Iruka-sensei doesn't have an assistant, he cancels our survival training lessons this week. Now Ino gets sick and has to go home. Can this week get anymore boring?!"_ Naruko finished with an internal scream.

The answer to that question was yes, yes it could, because just as she finished that thought, Iruka-sensei had an announcement for the class.

"Class, because several of your classmates have come down with the Flu as well as Ayumi-sensei, I was thinking we could review the Shinobi handbook, with a focus on the Shinobi rules." Iruka-sensei announced.

Naruko's only response was her head hitting her desk. _"Oh god, why must you punish me so?"_ Naruko cried inside. _"You couldn't give me the Flu like Ino. I bet this is the Kyubi's fault. I have never been sick a day in my life, and I am getting punished for it"_

Naruko had been so excited for the weekend, because then she would get to meet up with Anko again, who would begin to teach her the wakizashi. Now, she was contemplating using her new sword on herself.

After the most boring week in her entire life, the bell finally rang on Friday, signaling the end of class. Just before they were dismissed, Iruka-sensei announced that he needed some help cleaning the classroom, and therefore was going to assign some students to this task. Not able to escape fast enough, Naruko used Soru to vanish out of the academy. Seriously thinking that if she didn't get out fast enough, something would keep her trapped longer in this evil week.

The class sweat dropped as they watched this. In fact the only person who felt more than amusement was Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes and thought, _"that wasn't a shunshin, there were no telltale signs. No, that was pure speed. To think she is that far ahead of me. I am going to find out how, even if I have to track her down."_

Naruko wasn't aware of any of the thoughts surrounding her that day, all she cared about was getting out of there. Coming out of Soru several blocks away, Naruko was panting hard, and she could feel the strain. _"Maybe it wasn't the best idea to use Soru that far before I get used to the new resistance seals. NO, I had to, any longer in that classroom, and I would never been able to leave."_ Naruko thought, trying to convince herself.

Finally recovering her breath, Naruko started to make her way home. She wanted to change into some training gear, and then hit a training ground hard. Her plan was to try to adapt to her seals as fast as possible, otherwise she wouldn't be able to keep up with Anko's training tomorrow. Naruko had noticed something over the last year. Her recovery rate seemed to be increasing. When she was younger, she healed slightly faster than the average Shinobi. Now she rarely woke up sore, no matter how hard she pushed herself. Naruko wasn't sure if it was just the fact she was older and could handle more, that she was an Uzumaki, or a Jinchuriki. Whatever the case might be, the more she pushed herself, the stronger she got.

Naruko's musings on this phenomenon were actually close to the mark. The only thing she was off on was, that it was all three. Naruko was an unusual case as far as Jinchuriki went, because from the very moment she had been conceived she had been exposed to the Kyubi's chakra. In fact in her entire life, there was only a window of less than an hour where she wasn't. This fact, combined with her Uzumaki heritage, meant that she had tremendous stamina and a phenomenal recovery rate. Factoring in that she was getting older, and her body could handle more punishment with fewer negative side effects. Meant that Naruko's physical potential was practically boundless. As long as she pushed herself, then she would be reward with results.

With this aspect in mind, Naruko made her way to a training ground, so that she could really push the limits. She planned to use Soru and Geppo until she could barely stand, and then after a little rest, go again. When she got to one of her favorite training grounds, Naruko made thirty-one clones. Thirty of the Kage Bunshin would train in the chakra point finger handstand. She was making good progress there, and wanted to keep it up. She had an idea, and that training was key. The last clone was created simply to help her home at the end of training, if she couldn't make it herself. With everything ready, she got to work.

Naruko was smart to keep a backup clone on hand, because she couldn't walk home after training. Getting home, Naruko had the clone draw a bath, while she rested on the couch. After a heavy meal to replace what she lost, Naruko got into the bath for a nice soak. She was so relaxed, that the clone had to wake her up, and then carry her to bed. Too tired to think straight, Naruko passed out as soon as the clone dispersed.

The next morning, Naruko's healing had done its trick, and she was ready to go. After a nice filling breakfast and some stretches to limber up, Naruko grabbed her gear and left to meet Anko.

Arriving at the training ground she was supposed to meet Anko at. Naruko noticed that she had beaten Anko here. While waiting she decided to warm up. Naruko decided after her warm up, to use a burst of Soru, and to her satisfaction, it wasn't nearly as hard. Thankful for her extraordinary recovery rate, Naruko decide to practice some yoga, while she was waiting on Anko.

After getting fifteen minutes of solid practice, Naruko could feel Anko approaching the training ground. Finishing her pose, she stood up to wait for Anko to appear, and with a burst of shunshin, Anko had arrived.

"Hey, sorry I am late." Anko apologized. "There was a last minute task I needed to do for work. I can't get into any details, but I am sure you can use your imagination."

"That's okay, I understand. I am just happy you have time to teach me at all." Naruko replied

"Well, let's get right into it. Here catch." Anko said, while throwing a wakizashi-sized bokken towards her.

Catching it with a 'umph', Naruko realized that the bokken was weighted. Holding it in her hand, Naruko guessed the bokken was probably around fifty pounds. Which, while heavy, wasn't a weight that would kill her. Lightly swinging the bokken around to get a feel for the weight, Naruko realized that even though it was heavy, it was balanced the same as her real wakizashi. Ready for instruction, Naruko looked over to Anko.

"Good, you can handle the weight. I thought so, but you can never know. Anyway, what you have there is a fifty-pound training wakizashi. The point of which, is to develop strength and control. You see with a weighted bokken, you will practice the stances and swings in a slow and controlled manner. The point isn't to swing fast, but to swing slow and build up control muscles. So let's begin." Anko explained.

What followed was a grueling exercise in control. Anko wanted every swing to be perfect. It wasn't just about making the swing, but doing so with absolute control. Whenever Naruko started to get too fatigued to make a proper swing, Anko would have her rest and massage her arms to breakup the lactic acid build up. By the end of the day, her arms were fried. Naruko had made the mistake of explaining her recovery ability, so Anko felt comfortable pushing her.

"Let's meet tomorrow at the same time. If you can recover that fast, then we should pack in the training early on to develop muscle memory." Anko proposed to Naruko's horror.

Still, Naruko wanted to learn, so she agreed to meet Anko the next day.

Sunday was more of the same, though this time Naruko was able to go a little further than the day before.

"Man, you really do recover fast. At this pace you will be ready for some more complicated kata soon. How about in the beginning we meet Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. At your pace it shouldn't take long, maybe a month or two, before I feel comfortable letting you practice on your own. By then, you shouldn't have any bad habits." Anko offered.

"By the way, where is your girlfriend?" Anko asked with curiosity.

"She has the Flu, with what seems like half the village." Naruko replied with exasperation.

"You aren't kidding! I have been worked overtime to make up for lack of healthy Shinobi." Anko cried. "Well when Blondie is feeling better, bring her too. That way I can help her get started on senbon training, and if you wouldn't mind, give her these books on poison composition." Anko said handing over a storage scroll.

The next month passed pretty quickly. With the addition of Anko's lessons, Naruko and Ino had practically zero free time. They were even too tired to really fool around with each other. On the weekends when Ino would stay over at Naruko's apartment, the girls were too tired for anything more than cuddling. In fact the only thing of note was that Naruko kept feeling Sasuke trailing her. The first few times she just brushed off, but soon Naruko began to suspect that Sasuke was stalking her. This really creeped her out, and if it kept up she was going to confront him. Naruko had no desire for a stalker.

Finally towards the middle of November, Naruko got so fed up with having to dodge her new stalker that she decided to confront him once and for all about his creepy behavior.

After letting Sasuke follow her to a training ground, she used Soru to disappear. When Sasuke walked in the middle of the training ground to see where she went, Naruko appeared behind him.

"Hem, Hem." Naruko fake coughed.

Spinning around, Sasuke had a surprised look in his eyes.

"What are you doing? Why do you keep following me?" Naruko demanded

With wide eyes, Sasuke looked around as if to escape. Finally sighing, he decided to just come out with it.

"Look, I am sorry to have freaked you out, but I saw the speed you used to escape class several weeks ago. You have never used that level of speed at the academy before, and I was curious." Sasuke admitted.

"So because you were curious, you decided to stalk me! Why didn't you just ask?" Naruko said incredulously.

Now blushing, Sasuke looked down before he answered, "Ok, maybe I didn't think it out properly, but I wasn't sure how to approach a girl. Most of the times I am either ignoring them or running away from them. Still, I am sorry."

Shaking her head, Naruko looked at Sasuke for a few moments before saying, "Well now that you have my attention, what do you want?"

"I want to know how you got so fast." Sasuke seemed to demand.

Nonplussed, Naruko just said, "I train, hard."

"I train hard too, but I don't have that level of speed." Sasuke replied.

"Well, that's good for you, but what are you really asking me?" Naruko wondered, though she had an idea. However after being stalked for several weeks, she was going to make him work for it.

Blushing, Sasuke finally got to the heart of the matter, "I want to train with you."

"Do you mean you want to train with me, or that I train you?" Naruko asked for clarification.

After several long moments, where Naruko could see Sasuke battling his pride finally said, "the second one."

"You do know how to say please don't you?" Naruko wondered

"…Please, would you train me?" A blushing Sasuke finally asked.

"I will, but no more stalking" Naruko said with a smile, to lessen the comment.

After hearing Sasuke promise not to stalk her again, she decided to get down to business.

"Well, since I am free now for the first time in a while, I can start now. That is, if you are ready? Naruko wondered.

Surprised, but secretly delighted Sasuke agreed.

"Well, I need to see your level of fitness, so let's have a taijutsu spar. After that, we can run some drills." Naruko announced. "Oh, and Sasuke, don't hold back."

With that began one of the more humiliating moments in his life. He thought he was strong, but Naruko out classed him in all areas. No matter what he tried, he just couldn't land a hit on her, even at his full speed. He tried to tell himself that his embarrassment had nothing to do with Naruko being the prettiest girl he knew, but he would be lying to himself. When eventually Naruko called for a break, Sasuke was both relieved and upset.

"Not bad actually." Naruko commented. "I actually didn't think you would be that strong."

This appeased Sasuke's ego slightly, but only slightly. Soon, Naruko had Sasuke running drills to test his strength, speed, and stamina. After getting a good grasp of all three, Naruko had a game plan.

She wasn't sure whether or not she would teach Sasuke Soru. Naruko decided that she would have to get to know him better first. Just because someone asked for training didn't mean they were the type of person she wanted as a friend, only time would tell that part. Until then, Naruko figured she could run him through several exercises that would increase his speed and strength without going through the Soru training. Naruko also wanted to increase his chakra control. While good for an academy student, his level of control was nowhere near even Ino's level. So first thing she would have him learn was to tree climb. The final thing she would do for Sasuke would be to give him the resistance seals. His body seemed strong enough to not be hurt by such training. The next several weeks would determine if she wanted to continue to train Sasuke.

So, Naruko explained the training he would go through, including the principals of tree climbing into the explanation.

"So you see, using the proper amount of chakra, a person can cling to anything from trees to walls, and anything in between. Though I don't consider this exercise mastered until you can surface cling to any surface for an hour, while holding ten leaves to your body with chakra." Naruko explained.

"Hn. That sounds interesting." Sasuke replied.

"Yeah, it is, plus once this is done, the next several levels of chakra control become awesome. Now, the final thing I want to do today before I let you get to training, is apply what I call resistance seals. These seals will create a pressure or resistance against every motion you make. Even making a fist will require more work with these seals activated. This training, I believe, is far superior to the standard weights many ninja wear. The beauty is the resistance can constantly increase, while there is a limit to how much weight one can carry." Naruko said.

After applying the seals, she let Sasuke get use to the beginning level, before sending him off to start his training. However before he left decided to mention something.

"With the resistance seals on, your body will burn through calories much faster than before, so remember to increase your food intake." Naruko cautioned.

Now that she had taken care of having Sasuke stalk her, she decided to go meet with Anko for dango. While they had hit it off right from the start, Naruko was finding that she really liked spending time with Anko. Getting to know the older woman during training had been a pleasure, and she really wanted to learn more about her new friend. Because while Naruko was friendly to many people, she really only spent time with Ino and Hinata. While they were great, Naruko realized that making new friends was important too.

Meeting up with Anko, the two sat down for a snack. After they ordered, Naruko explained her day, including the Sasuke incident, much to Anko's amusement.

"You are a much nicer person than I am, my friend, if it had been me, I probably would have turned him down." Anko commented.

"I thought about doing that at first, but then I thought, 'what the hell'. Maybe he will turn out to be an interesting person to hang out with." Naruko reasoned.

After that, the dango came, and Anko was too focused on that to have a detailed discussion on anything. So, Naruko decided to wait until they finished to bring up anything more serious.

After their snack, the girls relaxed with tea and chatted. Over tea Naruko learned a lot about her new friend. For one, even though Anko didn't seem that serious, she could be over things she both loved like tea ceremony hated like Orochimaru. Due to the relationship that was developing between them, Anko even started talking more about her time with Orochimaru.

"I don't tell this to just anyone, but the truth is, that I was so proud to be chosen to be his apprentice. I mean, who wouldn't, he is a Sannin. For a time everything was great. He taught me several of his signature jutsu, but then he started to experiment on me. I don't remember much during that time, but he then abandoned me. However, before he did, he gave me this cursed seal." Anko stated as she told her story, and then she revealed her cursed seal.

Interested by the seal, Naruko asked, "Do you mind if I examine your seal? The only reason I ask is that I am a master level Fuinjutsu user."

Knowing not to get her hopes up, Anko nevertheless allowed it, but also said, "The Hokage himself examined my seal, and he couldn't figure out a way to release me from this burden."

"No offense to the Hokage, but I have several advantages over him. One, I am almost at the same level of skill that he is at, but I am twelve. This means, I am just starting my Fuinjutsu career. Two, I feel like I have a more creative mind than the Hokage. No offense to him, but the Hokage looks at problems in a somewhat linear manner. He is brilliant and powerful, but what is the Hokage famous for? His claim to fame is that he is a master of all ninja arts, not that he is a great inventor of ninja arts. This aspect is definitely apparent in his Fuinjutsu. The final advantage I have is that I can use Kage Bunshin like no other. With my ability to use that jutsu, I simply have the ability to exponentially increase my research power. Anyway, back to your seal, give me a chance to examine it." Naruko explained.

After several minutes probing the seal with her chakra, she finally said, "This is both an interesting seal, and a crude one. Whatever its function, it doesn't do it with any elegance. I will need to examine it in more depth than I can do at a dango shop, but I don't think it is impossible to free you of this."

Incredulous, but now feeling some hope, Anko asked, "You really think you might be able to do something about this seal? I would do anything to be free of it. So, what do you want?"

"Anko, we are friends, and even if we weren't, I would still do this for free." Naruko said, but after thinking for a moment, an embarrassed blush came over her face, and she said, "But if you want to offer me something as payment, well I wouldn't say no to learning that tongue manipulation jutsu that Orochimaru taught you."

At this, Anko just about fell over in laughter, much to Naruko's continued embarrassment. Finally after what to Naruko felt like forever, Anko started to calm down.

Still chuckling Anko said, "I have no problem teaching you that jutsu in payment. Plus, I can't think of any better way to get back at that bastard, then for one of his prized jutsu to be used for 'that'."

To which, Naruko could only blush harder.

"Still, I didn't you and Ino were that far in your relationship?" Anko asked.

"We aren't, but it never hurts to be prepared when the time comes." Was Naruko's very embarrassed reply.

"Well, enough teasing, what are your plans for the rest of today?" Anko asked.

"Honestly, my plan is to relax. I haven't had a day off in a while. So, I plan to take full advantage of it. Grabbing dango was the extent of my plans for today. Though if you are still up for hanging out, we could walk around the village some, maybe window shop or something." Naruko said.

"That sounds fine to me. Thankfully I am free the rest of the day." Anko agreed.

With that Naruko and Anko finished up their tea, and left to go walk around the village's shopping district. While the two kunoichi didn't see anything that they had to buy, the two had a blast. Much to Naruko's embarrassment, Anko was able to get her to try on some very risqué clothes.

Naruko tried to get out of this, but Anko just said, "What would Ino think of you wearing that?" And with those magic words, Anko was able to get Naruko to try on a variety of clothes, which she wouldn't normally even look at. Naruko tried on everything from extremely skimpy, lacy undergarments to some very revealing kunoichi gear. Gear that even Anko wouldn't be caught dead in, that is how risqué they were. Or as Anko put it after seeing Naruko come out of a dressing room, "Holy shit! I mean you might as well be naked, it would be less revealing that way."

" _Anko is right, I don't know how it is possible, but these clothes are worse than if I just walked around naked. I am almost 100% sure that this is some sort of imitation kunoichi gear, that some pervert designed. How could this protect anything?"_ Naruko thought to herself in shock.

The same time Naruko was having that thought, a large white haired man suddenly sneezed the loudest sneeze he had ever produced. _"Someone is thinking about me."_ He thought with a giggle. _"I hope it is a pretty young woman."_ The man, while correct, shouldn't have spent time thinking that thought, because it turns out he was hiding behind a boulder inside the Kunoichi's section of a Shinobi only hot spring, and the jutsu he was using to conceal himself, failed with his sneeze. With the cries of "PERVERT!" the man decided it was time to run, unfortunately he didn't make it in time, much to his immediate pain.

Back with Naruko and Anko, the two kunoichi while having fun trying on clothes, decided to move on, so Naruko made her way back into the dressing room to change back into her normal clothes. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she thought, _"Oh what the hell. Maybe I can surprise Ino one day."_ With that thought she created a Kage Bunshin silently in the dressing room. Handing the clone some real money, Naruko signaled to the clone to wait until they left the store before coming out. Because while she might have asked Anko to teach her the tongue manipulation jutsu, she was sure as hell not letting her know about buying this monstrosity of a Kunoichi's uniform.

With that the two of them left the clothing store, and continued their way around the village, having a blast the entire time.

Soon it was getting quite late in the day, and it was time to go their separate ways.

"Anko, I have had a lot fun hanging out with you." Naruko said. "We should definitely do this more often, and don't worry, I will begin researching ways to get rid of cursed seals."

"Thanks, I really enjoyed spending time with you too, and I promise to teach you that jutsu, just maybe not with Ino around." Anko said with a smirk.

With a blush returning to her face, Naruko gave Anko a hug, and said "Bye". After getting a "bye" from Anko, Naruko made her way home.


	11. Chapter 11

During the rest of November and December, Naruko and Ino continued to train with Anko. Naruko's ability with the wakizashi was coming along nicely, and so too was her upper body strength. Swinging around a fifty-pound sword for several hours a day, four days a week, will do that for you. Likewise so too was Ino improving. Anko had introduced her to senbon throwing and herbalism with a focus on poisons. Ino realized that if she was going to convince anyone to take her seriously about not being on Shikamaru's team, then she needed an alternative to the Nara family jutsu. Being able to capture opponents with senbon would give her that advantage. Plus with the seduction training, her knowledge of pressure points was expanding. She now could inflict pleasure, pain, or paralysis with a stab or touch. With Anko's help Ino figured by the time she was ready to graduate she would have amazing aim.

Naruko was also pushing the bounds of her recovery ability. She really wanted to be able to use Kamisori, and because of that desire, she was using Soru and Geppo as much as she could. She was satisfied with her level of Rankyaku, because by December she could cut through several trees. Not only that, but she also learned to make crescent wind battering rams. These were really just dull wind blades, but Naruko thought it was important to have a few nonlethal options. However with Kamisori, the most she could make was three steps before she fell down. This was hardly the ability to move freely in a three-dimensional environment that she wanted.

The end of November also brought a surprise from Hinata; she had finally advanced enough to use Soru. Apparently she had been pushing herself hard, and was finally there. Naruko was surprised but happy, she rewarded Hinata with some resistance seals of her own. If Hinata kept up her progress, Naruko was thinking about teaching the girl the Amaguriken. That technique was pretty much a Juuken user's dream. The ability to throw out hundreds of taps in a second would turn Hinata into a monster. The only reason she hesitated in teaching Hinata, was both the danger in learning, but also she had some fears that the Hyuga might pressure Hinata into giving them the technique. While anyone could figure it out if they read the manga. Naruko learned that it was a really rare series, and she was the only one who had seemed to hear about it. Apparently a series about a sex changing martial artist didn't have much appeal in world with the powers they had at their fingertips. By comparison, Ranma's level of skill was tame. Still, if Hinata continued to improve, Naruko would probably go ahead and teach the girl.

While Naruko continued to meet up with Sasuke, to give him training tips, she still wasn't sure how to feel about the boy, but he seemed to be growing on her. They hadn't reached the level of say, friends yet, but maybe if he loosened up some, they might be. Sure, Naruko understood where his attitude came from, but that didn't mean she had to put up with it. He seemed fairly talented, and by December had mastered tree climbing to her satisfaction. So she taught him how to water walk, and left him to it.

Naruko had decided to herself that she would let Sasuke set the pace of their tentative almost friendship. She had no desire to push him, and she also wanted him to come out of his shell on his own, which miraculously seemed to be happening, if only gradually. One day he even approached her before class and offered a "Good Morning", which an astonished Naruko responded to. She figured that by the time the apocalypse happened, she might even get a full conversation, followed by a "Have a nice day", but she wasn't holding her breath.

As she promised Anko, Naruko focused some of her Fuinjutsu research on cursed seals, and how to remove them. Mito's library actually had a way to release cursed seals. The method was called the Evil Releasing Method also know as the Kaija Hōin. The only caveat to using this technique on Anko was that the user needed to be familiar with the cursed seal in question, or have the seal's key. Because she had neither the familiarity nor a key, more research was needed. She hoped to create a false key, and so was researching that possibility. That had actually born fruit pretty quickly, because Mito's library had notes on the creation of Fuinjutsu keys. The problem she was running into was knowledge of the seal, so she planned to study Anko's more. _"If only I could have seen the seal being applied and taking effect, I could have designed a key much easier."_ Naruko thought to herself, because watching a seal being applied and watching the aftereffects were the easiest time to learn the most about a seal. Well, then, and when the seal is designed in the first place.

Naruko needed to meet up with Anko somewhere to study her seal, and so decided to ask her after training during mid-December.

"Hey Anko," Naruko started, "I need to study your seal sometime. I actually have a couple of ideas on how to remove it, but I need more information on the seal to devise the methods in question."

"Sure! I would be happy to let you examine this seal, if it means that I can get the damn thing off of me. And damn girl, you work fast." Anko complemented.

"Well, like I said, it helps to have an army of Kage Bunshin at your beck and call." Naruko joked.

"So when would you like to meet up for this examination?" Anko wondered.

"Well, how about Friday afternoon, once I get done with the Academy I won't anything to do until Saturday morning?" Naruko proposed.

"That works for me!" Anko agreed.

A few days later on Friday, Naruko met up with Anko for dango after the academy let out for the afternoon. There the two sat down for a leisurely snack, before Naruko had to get down to business.

"So, where should we examine the seal?" Anko wondered.

"I was thinking the best place would probably be your apartment, that way if something within the seal causes you any stress, you will have a place to relax." Naruko suggested.

"That's fine with me, we can head there after we finish eating." Anko proposed.

Soon conversation had to be put on hold, because Anko had dango to eat. Within a few minutes, the woman in question had devoured her dango, and was looking at Naruko's plate like lion looks at a wounded gazelle. Looking up, Naruko realized that she needed to guard her plate. Soon though Naruko finished, and the two made their way to Anko's apartment.

Once there, Naruko explained the process of opening up a compressed seal.

"So, there is a chance, that Orochimaru put in sometime of safeguards to stop his seal from being teased apart. This is most likely in the form of intense pain. Luckily I thought ahead, and made some pain blocking Fuinjutsu tags. So, whenever you are ready we can begin." Naruko explained.

"Hey, if this is going to knock me out, would you like me to teach you the Tongue Manipulation jutsu before we begin? This seems like a good as a time as any." Anko asked.

With a blush Naruko agreed to learn the jutsu.

Anko then went into teaching mode, showing Naruko how to use chakra to extend, strengthen, and manipulate the tongue. "So basically, you need to use your chakra to meld with the cells of the tongue to control them. Once you make it malleable, then you can use your chakra reinforce the tongue. After that, you just need to use chakra to control it, almost like chakra strings." Anko explained.

"Hmm, I understand. Though if you use it as a weapon, do you taste what you touch?" Naruko asked with curiosity.

"That depends on if you grow your taste buds, along with the tongue." Anko answered. "Well, go on and try it."

Taking Anko's advice to heart, she then attempted to manipulate her tongue. It took a few tries to learn how to meld chakra to her tongue, but in no time at all she had gotten the technique down. It might take a little while longer to master the technique to the point she could do so without any effort, but Naruko was happy with her progress. She really had no desire to use this technique in combat after all; she just wanted to not have the technique fail on her.

"Damn, I am jealous. You got that technique down much faster than I did." Anko complained.

"Well, not all of us can be great." Naruko teased. "But thank you for teaching me."

Laughing, Anko just said, "Well you better put that tongue to good use." With that she threw Naruko a salacious grin.

Blushing heavily, Naruko just nodded, much to Anko humor.

Getting down to the business she was there for, Naruko had Anko take off her jacket and mesh top.

"You are just a regular ladies' girl aren't you? You have a girlfriend, and now you get me back to my place to have me strip in front of you." Anko joked.

Just shaking her head, Naruko told the woman to get on with it.

Soon a bare Anko was before Naruko, with her seal exposed. At that point Naruko began placing pain blocking seal tags on Anko's body. Once that was done, she started using her chakra to tease open the seal. At first it resisted, but having a huge amount of chakra, Naruko was able to keep up the process long enough that one of the fail safes failed, allowing the seal to open along Anko's body. Now with an open view of Orochimaru's seal, Naruko started to take notes, but before long realizing she needed more eyes, created some Kage Bunshin. Going back to examining the seal, she learned more about it. She could she parts of the seal were designed to corrupt the user, several aspects to enslave the mind, and another part to supply a chakra boost. There even was an area for expansion, so that if Orochimaru wanted to he could add more to the seal. Part of that aspect was a place to add some sort of biological aspect, like DNA, or maybe an enzyme. Overall, it was crudely done, if she wanted to, she could have made a much more sophisticated version. The only part that really troubled her was the chakra boost section. Chakra just didn't come from nowhere, and this part of the seal didn't gather chakra, it just supplied it. Examining that part closer, she realized that there was still some compressed parts that needed to be opened. So using her chakra again, she began the process of opening the seal. It was then, that Anko started moaning in pain.

" _The pain must be great, to get through my pain blockers."_ Naruko thought.

Finally able to push through it, the seal opened and Anko relaxed. It was there, that Naruko discovered the true, horrible reason for the seal. This wasn't just a seal to control the user, with a chakra boost as a benefit, no this seal housed a sliver of Orochimaru's soul and a portion of his chakra. This seal was designed to keep Orochimaru alive past death. This was how the chakra kept replenishing. Orochimaru's soul was powering the damn thing.

Sitting back in horror, Naruko wasn't sure what to do. Signaling to her Kage Bunshin to set the seal back to normal, she sat there trying to figure out what to tell Anko. Once the seal was back to normal, and Anko was dressed in a robe, she approached the still shocked Naruko.

"It's bad isn't it?" Anko asked in apprehension.

"Do you want me to tell you the truth?" Naruko wondered.

After taking a few moments to think, Anko finally said, "Knowing or not knowing won't change anything. I still have the seal, so I figure knowing the truth is better than not."

Nodding to that statement, Naruko sighed before beginning her explanation.

"The seal has many functions, from corruption, to mind control, chakra boosting, and even a section to allow for the seal to be advanced to another level. But the most worrying part of this seal is the chakra boosting, not the mind control or corruption part. You see, chakra has to come from somewhere, and this seal doesn't gather chakra. No, instead Orochimaru decided to use a sliver of his own soul to generate the chakra inside that seal. The seal is some sort of soul anchor for Orochimaru, keeping him alive." Naruko explained, much to Anko's horror.

"Are you saying, that I have a piece of that monster's soul in me?!" Anko cried, freaking out.

"Yes." Naruko simply said.

Silence was Anko's response, and for several minutes Naruko let Anko digest that horrible, violating news. While she couldn't truly understand what Anko was going through, she could be there for her friend. Eventually Naruko decided that Anko had spent enough time in shock, so she scooted over on the couch, and gathered the woman in her arms, where she just whispered the truth to Anko, "I know this must be horrible, but you are not alone. I won't stop until I have removed this seal from you"

With that Anko began to cry, which is something she hadn't let herself do in a very long time. Not since Orochimaru abandoned her had she allowed herself to cry. For something that she could remember as being so painful, crying this time seemed like a release. She hadn't known she was carrying all this pent up emotion inside her, until just now, but it felt cleansing, like she was finally grieving.

Naruko continued to hold Anko, letting the older woman cry in her arms. She had never been betrayed like Anko. When she was younger, people had treated her badly, but no one whose opinion she cared about, no one she had ever loved, had ever betrayed her. The only thing she knew how to do was be there for her friend.

Eventually Anko fell asleep in her arms. Sighing, Naruko picked up the older woman, and carried her into her bedroom. Placing the sleeping woman in her bed, she then tucked Anko in. Walking out of Anko's bedroom, Naruko sighed again, not sure what do to do in this situation. Thinking for a minute, Naruko created a Kage Bunshin to go inform Ino of the situation. Ino should be arriving at her apartment around this time to stay over for the weekend. Hopefully Ino will have an idea about what to do.

The clone of Naruko made her way to the original's apartment, hoping Ino would be there. Fortunately when the clone walked in, Ino was already inside.

"Hey Naruko!" Ino greet the clone with a hug.

"Hey Ino." The clone said tiredly. "By the way, I am just a clone."

"Oh, what's wrong, I haven't heard you sound like that before, and where is the original?" Ino wondered.

"Boss is at Anko's house. She was examining Anko's cursed seal, when she discovered something that really upset Anko. Hell it upset me, I mean the boss too." The clone answered.

"What happened?" Ino asked.

"It seems that Anko's cursed seal is more than anyone thought, the hidden function of the seal is to help keep Orochimaru immortal. Basically that snake bastard takes a sliver of his soul, and then houses that in the seal. It is where the power generation that the seal provides comes from. This way his soul is tethered to this world, and if he was somehow killed, he could be brought back through the cursed seal. I can't even begin to tell you how messed up it is, or how distraught Anko was to hear that news. The Boss stayed over at Anko's apartment to watch over her. She wanted me to ask what you think we should do?" The clone said, explaining the whole situation to Ino.

"Hmm, let me think." Ino said, and was silent for a moment. "How about you take me back to Anko's apartment, and I can stay with the original. That way we can take care of Anko together."

"That sounds like a good plan." The clone said, agreeing to the idea.

"Good, just let me grab a bag of with a change of clothes for the both of us and our toothbrushes." Ino said, as she walked back to Naruko's bedroom to pack a small bag.

After they left the apartment, the clone led Ino to Anko's apartment. There Naruko opened the door, before Ino could knock.

"Come in." Naruko whispered.

As Ino and the clone walked in, Naruko locked the door behind them. As Naruko turned to Ino, the clone dispelled itself. Naruko paused for a moment to assimilate the new knowledge from the clone, but after a moment just said, "Good, you have been filled in."

"I am. Thank you for sending a clone to inform me. I would have been worried if you hadn't come home." Ino said.

"It's no problem, plus I wanted your opinion on this situation anyway." Naruko commented.

"You are doing all that can be done. We just need to be there for her, and eventually when you are able, you can remove the seal." Ino said with confidence in Naruko.

"I plan to devote a much time I can to ridding Anko of that horrible seal." Naruko said in agreement.

"I know you will." Ino replied.

"Well, while we watch over Anko, what should we do?" Naruko wondered.

"Hmm, well, it has to be a quiet activity…I know, didn't you promise the Hokage, you would talk to the Kyubi when you had a chance?" Ino wondered.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten. You and I have been so busy, it just slipped my mind." Naruko admitted.

"Well, now is a good a time as any." Ino suggested.

"You are right." Naruko replied, and with that, sat down on the floor to meditate.

With Ino's coaching it didn't take long for her to slip into that mind state needed to make her way into the seal. Centering herself, she fell back into the seal.

Coming to in the sewer again, Naruko made her way to the Kyubi. Eventually she made her way to his cage.

" **So, you have returned. Why?"** The Kyubi asked in a bored tone.

"I have a question, and then I wanted to talk." Naruko answered.

" **I have no desire to talk."** The Kyubi said.

"Well, I am going to ask anyway. On the day you were sealed into me, do you remember anything about the person who ripped you out of my mother's seal, and then controlled you to attack the village?" Naruko asked.

" **I remember that man. I told you it was an Uchiha. He wore an orange mask, with an opening for one exposed Sharingan. His presence felt twisted by hate, it reminded me of Madara."** The Kyubi answered.

"Thank you, I appreciate you help."

" **I simply hate that man that was able to control me, nothing more."** They Kyubi replied.

"Still, I thank you." Naruko said, and after pausing for a moment continued, "Have you given anymore thought about my proposal to get along. Like I said earlier, I just think if we are going to be stuck together, then why not get along."

" **Nothing has changed between us to make me want to spend any more time than I have to with you."** The Kyubi said.

"Well, that doesn't change facts." Naruko said stubbornly. "If you don't want to be friends, is there anything you do want. Beside freedom, which you know I can't grant."

Surprised that the girl was offering him anything at all, the Kyubi thought for a minute, but then realizing his situation just said, **"Besides freedom, there is nothing you can give me."**

"Well, maybe that's true. However there must be something. Wait I have an idea. How much of the world outside of here are you aware of?" Naruko questioned.

" **Besides a vague sense of your being, nothing. Maybe that would change if you used my chakra, but I don't. The only time you pulled more chakra than normal from the seal, I was asleep."** The Kyubi answered.

"Well, if I can figure out how to give you more awareness, would you want that?" Naruko wondered.

" **First, how would you do that, and second, who said I would want to view your life?"** The Kyubi said in response.

"Well, I am a master level Fuinjutsu user, so I could take a look at the seal and see what I can do. The only problem is that I don't have the key, so I am not sure if it is possible. However, I will try my best to give you an awareness of the outside world. As to why you would want to view my life, well, is this darkness so much better?" Naruko asked.

" **It could be, I don't know, but until you can give me an awareness, there is no point in debating it."** The Kyubi commented.

"You are right, until I can show you I mean business, these are just words to you. However I will show you one day, that I am telling the truth." Naruko assured the Kyubi. "Well, on that note, I will leave you, but please think about what I said."

With that, Naruko focused on waking up. As she came to, Naruko realized that making herself leave the seal was much less disorienting that being forced out.

Ino, Naruko noticed, was watching over her, as she meditated. So turning toward her girlfriend, she gave Ino a smile, to let her know everything was all right.

"How was it?" Ino wondered.

"Not bad. Better than last time actually. How long was I out?" Naruko wondered.

"That's good that it is getting better, and not long, only about thirty minutes." Ino responded.

"Has there been any change with Anko?" Naruko asked.

"Nope, still sleeping. I could hear her toss a little bit, but she settled down after a little while." Ino answered.

"It is getting kind of late. Are you hungry?" Naruko wondered.

"I could eat, though I don't think we should cook. That might wake up Anko." Ino stated.

"Don't worry, I can just send a clone down the street to buy some premade bento boxes at the store." Naruko proposed.

"That is honestly fine with me. I don't really have the energy for anything else anyway." Ino said in agreement.

"Me neither." Naruko said, and with that made another clone to go pick up dinner.

Not long after that, the clone was back with their dinner, and something incase Anko woke up. While not the most amazing meal, it hit the spot. Soon both girls finished their dinners. After cleaning up, Naruko grabbed Ino by the hand, dragged her over to the couch, and laid her down.

"I am really thankful for you." Naruko said with sincerity.

Then she gave Ino a deep kiss, and settled down next to her on the couch. Snuggling up to Ino, Naruko just breathed in her girlfriend's scent, and relaxed. Both girls laid in each other's arms on Anko's couch, just listening to the other's heartbeats. With nothing else to do, both girls soon drifted off to sleep on that couch, holding each other tightly.

Anko woke up as the morning light hit her face. Cringing slightly in discomfort, Anko eventually got up. Not remembering going to bed, she tried to remember how she made it to bed. Then she remembered the events of last night. Sighing, she assumed Naruko must of helped her to bed. Pulling her robe tighter around her body, she walked out of her bedroom, and was pleasantly surprised to see she wasn't alone.

A soft smile graced her face at the cute sight. There on her couch, her two young friends were cuddled against each other, deep asleep.

" _It is sweet they stayed here to keep me company."_ Anko thought.

Anko trying not to wake up the girls, silently padded into the kitchen to boil some water for tea. Open the refrigerator to see if she had any food, she saw another pleasant surprise. The girls had gotten her a bento box. Smiling, Anko pulled it out of the refrigerator to munch on while her water boiled. Soon she had a nice hot mug of tea and something in her stomach.

Taking her tea with her, Anko made her way to her balcony. Sitting down, Anko watched the Sun climb into the sky. Sitting in silence, Anko just felt numb. She thought her past with Orochimaru was done hurting her. That isn't to say she didn't think Orochimaru wouldn't hurt in the future, just that the past was the past. Her wounds felt raw again, and she felt her defenses come down for the first time in a while. She wondered where to go from here. Not for the first time, she contemplated killing herself. It would be one less anchor to this life that Orochimaru would have.

"That won't solve anything Anko." Naruko said from behind her.

Startled, she hadn't heard Naruko walk up behind her, being as distracted as she was.

"How did you know that was what I was thinking?" Anko asked with some curiosity, not even trying to pretend that wasn't in her thoughts.

"I thought you would have heard from Inoichi, but I have empathy, which by that, I mean I can sense emotions, both positive and negative." Naruko answered.

"No, Inoichi never mentioned it. Why would he?" Anko wondered.

"I am the one who discovered Mizuki, through my empathy." Naruko answered as she felt Ino come up behind.

Hugging Naruko from behind, Ino rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Naruko sensed his emotions from the first moment she met that bastard." Ino filled in.

"Hmm, Inoichi never said anything." Anko said. "Speaking of your father Ino, you said you hadn't told him about your relationship yet, but he is a pretty smart guy. Don't you think he will realize what is going on, especially with you practically living at Naruko's apartment on the weekends?" Anko asked with some interest.

"Actually, I am pretty sure he knows." Naruko simply said.

"Wait! What? When did this happen, and are you sure? What about my mother" Ino asked Naruko.

"I am not 100% sure, but whenever the two of us are together, and especially when you tell him you are staying over, his emotions feel, I don't know, at peace, like he is resolved to let us figure it out. As for your mother, I am not sure, if your father has told her. For as long I have been able to sense emotions, she has felt serene about the two us. Take that how you want." Naruko explained.

"Oh." Ino stated.

"As to why I haven't said anything, well, it just didn't seem that big a deal. If they weren't going to make anything of it, well I wasn't going to complain." Naruko finished explaining.

"Well, there you go, I knew old Inoichi was pretty smart." Anko said in conclusion.

"So, what are you plans today Anko?" Ino wondered.

"Honestly, I feel like taking the day off." Anko replied.

"Do it, you deserve to after what you discovered." Naruko said.

"I guess I can send in a Kage Bunshin." Anko said after thinking about it for a moment.

"That's a good idea, but don't spend all your time alone in your apartment." Ino commented.

"I won't, I feel like taking a walk actually, maybe getting my head on straight." Anko decided.

"Well, I am going to have to leave in a minute. I have an appointment with the Hokage." Naruko said, letting Anko know. "Also, Anko, I will have to inform the Hokage about this. He needs to know what Orochimaru has done."

"I understand, I didn't think this would stay between us. It is too important." Anko acknowledged.

Conversation stilled after that, and for a while the three of them sat on the balcony of Anko's apartment. Eventually Naruko got up, and giving Anko's shoulder a squeeze, went back inside to get ready to head over to the Hokage's office.

Making her way the Hokage's office, she wondered about everything going on in her life. It was a lot, and Orochimaru's immortality felt like another piece she had to deal with. Finally getting there, Naruko went on up to the Hokage's office.

"Hey Ojiisan." Naruko said walking in.

"Hello Naruko." The Hokage replied. "How is everything?"

"It's weird." Naruko responded.

"Oh?" The Hokage questioned.

"Yeah, I examined Anko's seal, and I found some truly disturbing information when I did." Naruko said, and seeing the Hokage's look, continued, "That seal isn't just some type of power enhancer designed to corrupt the user into becoming Orochimaru's puppet. It is far worse. I discovered where the power comes from in seal. It seems as though this seal is actually a form of immortality for Orochimaru, and he has sealed a sliver of his soul into Anko's seal. As long as there are cursed seals out there, Orochimaru can't truly die. He can be revived through that seal." Naruko finished.

The Hokage had a look of horror and disgust on his face.

"It seems like my student has truly fallen far in this world." The Hokage finally said.

"That is true, but not all I have learned recently. I talked to the Kyubi again, and he told me that the Uchiha, who released the Kyubi on us, wore an orange mask with only one eye exposed, in which was an Sharingan. The Kyubi also said that the Uchiha was filled with so much hate, that he had become twisted like Madara Uchiha." Naruko explained.

"That doesn't ring any bells, but I will keep my eyes open for any information on someone fitting that description." The Hokage responded.

"Good, and now I want to study some Fuinjutsu and try to forget how horrible people can be." Naruko stated as she walked toward the library.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruko decided that after yesterday and this morning, that today she was going to spend her time in Mito's library researching fun and frivolous uses of Fuinjutsu.

" _Every now and then, I need to remind myself that chakra can be used for good, or even just silly things."_ Naruko thought to herself.

So for the next few hours, that is exactly what Naruko did. Apparently the Uzumaki of the past had used Fuinjutsu for anything they could think of, and this was recorded in Mito's library. It was nice, Naruko decided, that her former clansmen had used their abilities for many other things, besides killing. So, that is what Naruko did. She researched the most ridiculous things she could think about. Naruko even found a seal very similar to what the Tongue Manipulation jutsu did, however this seal was for pranks, and made the target's nose and ears grow to large proportions. The seal even had a function to cause the ears to flap. Reading up on this seal was hilarious, because the Uzumaki who had created it had included personal notes about the uses. Naruko, having an idea, recorded the seal's diagram for later modification. Moving on, she found seals on caring for young children, and even a seal that produced a soothing chakra pulse to lull babies to sleep.

After two hours of aimless research, Naruko felt much better about the world. _"People,"_ Naruko thought, _"can use their powers for good just as much as for evil, but it is up to each person to step up and fight for a world of peace and happiness. One day, I will see a world where people use chakra for good and noble reasons, instead of just selfish and evil ones."_ Now feeling recharged, the young kunoichi packed up her Fuinjutsu notes, and made her way out of the library. Saying a quick goodbye to the Hokage, Naruko left to find Ino. She wanted to share her new goals with her girlfriend, and thought Ino would agree with her new determination to create a world where chakra wasn't a tool of death.

Sensing Ino in the main market place of the village, Naruko slowly walked towards her girlfriend. Turning the corner, she saw Ino window-shopping in the clothing district of the market. Silently walking up behind Ino, Naruko saw she was lost in thought gazing at a pretty dress.

"I think you would look beautiful in that." Naruko said with a smile.

A surprised Ino however just clutched her heart. Turning around she smacked Naruko in the arm, and said, "Don't surprise me like that." Then turning back to the dress in the window, asked, "Do you really think so? It isn't too much?"

"I think the color really brings out your eyes, and besides you can pull it off." Naruko said, reassuring her girlfriend.

"Thanks, I was debating whether to try it on or not." Ino said, and then grabbed Naruko's had to pull her into the store.

Naruko watched on as her girlfriend talked to a clerk about the dress in the window. After a moment, Ino was walking back to the dressing room, and Naruko decided to sit down while Ino tried on the dress.

When Ino walked back out, she did a twirl for her girlfriend. In response Naruko simply said, "I was right, it does bring out your eyes. You look beautiful in it."

With a light blush, Ino looked down at the dress, and asked, "Are you sure I should get it though, it is expensive?"

"Don't worry about it, I feel like treating you today." Naruko stated in response.

Biting her lip, Ino asked, "Are you sure?"

At Naruko's nod, Ino threw herself into Naruko's arms to give her girlfriend a strong hug in thanks. Basking in the positive emotions Ino was putting out, the strongest of which, was love, Naruko led Ino over to the register to purchase the dress. After handing over the money, and receiving the wrapped up dress, the two girls walked out arm in arm.

"Where should we go now?" Ino wondered

"It is a nice day, let's go to the park." Naruko proposed.

At Ino's agreement, the girls continued their walk arm in arm now with a destination firmly in mind. Coming up to the park, Naruko led Ino over to a park bench. Sitting down the two girls watched the inhabitants of the park enjoying their day out. Soon Naruko's attention was drawn towards a group of children running around playing tag. Listening to the children squealing in delight, reminded Naruko of her new determination, and wanting to share, she turned toward Ino.

"So, I have a new goal." Naruko started.

"Oh?" Ino wondered.

"Yeah, sitting in Mito's library today, I was trying to find something to distract me, at least for today. So I decided to just look up the most frivolous uses for Fuinjutsu possible. You know, just any wasteful, silly piece of Fuinjutsu. The Uzumaki clansmen recorded a lot of interesting seals in the library Mito brought with her. Some were from pranks, others to take care of children, but after reading up on all these different, unique, and sometimes silly applications. I realized that this is what we were supposed to be using chakra for. Not killing, or trying to live forever, but to just 'live'. We should be using chakra to both better our lives, and to better understand each other. So that is my new goal. I want to create a world, where children grow up learning about chakra to help others, not to hurt others." Naruko said, sharing her new dream.

"I think that is a beautiful and noble goal." Ino said in encouragement, as she laid her head on Naruko's shoulder.

After Naruko's announcement of her new dream, the girls sat in silence watching the children play. The game of tag lasted quite some time, the game constantly sifting as new people arrived to the park. Eventually the game started to get closer to the two girls. Naruko noticed that the 'it' this round was a young girl around six or seven. As she chased some of the other children past them, the girl tripped, and falling to the ground, the young girl deeply skinned her knee.

As the girl started to cry, Naruko felt her heart go out to the young girl. Getting up, Naruko and Ino made their way over to the crying girl.

"Now, now, don't cry." Naruko said soothingly. "Here, let me see. I bet I can make it feel better."

Tentatively the young child let Naruko examine her gashed knee. Crouching down, Naruko placed her glowing hand over the child's knee. Within moments, the knee was healed, much the girl's astonishment.

"Wow! It doesn't hurt anymore!" The child exclaimed. "Thanks onee-san!" And with that, the child ran off to continue the game with the other children.

Naruko's feeling of resolve deepened, as she took this moment as a sign that she was on the correct path. _"We 'can' bring peace and not pain."_ Naruko thought with determination.

After that little drama, Naruko took hold of Ino's hand and guided her out of the park, to continue their walk.

The girls took the rest of the weekend off, and just relaxed. They spent some more time with Anko, when the woman felt up to having company, but other than that, Naruko and Ino decided that sometimes it is important to take a day off. Life would resume soon enough, so both girls enjoyed this moment as much as they could.

Monday dawned soon enough, and both girls felt rested from their weekend off. As usual, Naruko met Ino at the front gate to the academy. Together they walked in to join up with Hinata. As she walked into the classroom, Naruko even got another "Good Morning" from Sasuke. It seemed the boy was slowly coming out of his shell, and her plan to not push him, was working. Returning the greeting, Naruko and Ino sat down with Hinata to wait on their teachers to come in.

After the academy, the two girls made their way to their favorite training ground. Naruko wanted to work on her chakra point technique. She hadn't been able to really work on it recently with all that had been going on, but she wanted to be able to maintain her one finger handstand for an hour. Unfortunately she could only maintain the handstand for around fifteen minutes before the strain caused her to lose focus. The challenge of this technique wasn't chakra consumption because after the initial amount needed to form the point, the drain on her reserves went away, but rather being able to hold the compression. Naruko had set her goal for an hour, because she thought if she could last that long, then she would then have enough concentration for the next stage. That stage, if possible, was to use high chakra pressure and concentration to sort of push her off of the point and float above it. Naruko wanted to learn to create a high-pressure field using chakra control.

Walking out onto the training ground Naruko decided to really focus on this, and so she created one hundred clones to assist her. For the next several hours, Naruko watched the clones continue to attempt to hold the chakra point for as long as they could. Some of the clones were even able to do so for over twenty minutes, however it was past dinnertime now, and Naruko decided to wrap up her training. Slowly dismissing her clones as she meditated, Naruko finally was ready to head out with Ino.

"Are you satisfied with your training?" Ino asked.

"I am. If I keep up this level, then I think that by the end of the week, even with Anko's training mixed in, I will be able to meet my goal." Naruko replied.

"That's great. I still don't really know what this is for beside advanced control training." Ino stated.

"Well, I am hoping to be able to create and use something I am going call, chakra pressure." Naruko answered.

"I know that, but what is the application?" Ino asked her girlfriend.

"Honestly, though I am not even sure if it possible, but during my Fuinjutsu research, I came across a mention of a seal that used a harmonic chakra pressure to fuse two elements together. Unfortunately that seal wasn't recorded, just the mention of it." Naruko responded.

"Wait, are you trying to somehow create sub-elemental chakra without a bloodline?" Ino wondered in astonishment.

"Actually yes. I know it might be a long shot, but either way I will have learned something." Naruko replied.

"That would be amazing if you were able to do that. It would transform how people viewed chakra." Ino said with a smile toward Naruko.

"Well now you know my plans. What about you? How did your training go?" Naruko wondered.

"It went great! Now that I can use both of my chakra affinities, I have been working on mastering those jutsu you gave me, and I can say that I feel confidant that I have finally done so, at least in terms of chakra control. For the Suiton: Teppōdama and Suiton: Mizurappa, I have managed to get both jutsu down to just one seal each. For the Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, I don't need any seals, and finally for the Doton: Retsudo Tenshō, while I have the chakra consumption perfect, I still need all three seals." Ino said, explaining her training.

"That's amazing Ino!" Naruko exclaimed while congratulating the girl with a hug.

"Thanks!" Ino replied still flushed from success at training.

"Ino, if the two of us keep this progress up, we will be very strong. I just know it." Naruko said with certainty.

"Well, maybe you, but I don't know about myself." Ino commented with some doubt in her voice.

"No, Ino you are strong, and you will only get stronger. You should trust me on this." Naruko stated as though a fact.

The certainty in Naruko's voice reassured Ino, who sometimes doubted herself when she compared herself to Naruko. _"I guess I shouldn't use Naruko as a comparison."_ The girl thought to herself.

For the rest of the week Naruko and Ino trained, both by themselves, and also with Anko, who seemed to have put the funk of last weekend aside for the moment. True to her timeline, Naruko was, with the use of one hundred clones a day, able to finally keep upright on a nail for an hour using only a finger and chakra. This made the girl quite excited that she was finally done with stage one of her idea. Now of course came the hard part, which was increasing the pressure. It was Sunday afternoon, and Naruko had created one hundred clones again. This time, the clones' goal wasn't just to stay afloat, but to slowly raise themselves by increasing the pressure between themselves and the chakra point. Unfortunately this wasn't easy at all, and as Naruko watched, several clones popped from straining their coils too much.

After several hours of creating new clones to replenish the ones that dispelled from chakra damage, Naruko looked up in surprise as she heard a "Yatta!" She then immediately got the memories. It seemed that a clone had figured out how to increase the pressure, if only for a moment. However the clone became so excited, that she lost control, and the pressure backlash dispelled her.

Shaking her head at the memories, but excited nonetheless, Naruko directed the remaining clones to attempt what the momentarily successful clone had done. Soon several clones were able to push themselves off of their chakra point, not with really any control, but she now had an understanding of how to pressurize chakra.

" _Now,"_ Naruko thought, _"Comes the slow and difficult part, which is to apply control to this process."_

Deciding that she was finished for the day, Naruko dismissed her clones. Waiting on Ino, Naruko determined that while going forward she wouldn't dedicate so much attention to this one project to the exclusion of so many other things, she still had made great progress.

" _Now that I have an idea on how to pressurize my chakra, I can slowly learn control. I can afford to use several clones on this, but not a hundred like before. Hopefully even using a smaller amount of clones, I can still make progress. Even I have my limits, and with so many projects, especially Fuinjutsu research, I just don't have the time or resources to focus so heavily on this."_ Naruko thought to herself.

Soon Ino joined her, and the two girls made their way out of the training ground together.

It was towards the end of December, and in fact there was only a week until the beginning of the New Year, when Sasuke approached her after class.

"What's up Sasuke?" Naruko finally asked, as she stared at the quiet boy, who had come up to her.

"I want to spar again." Sasuke stated somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh? Well, ok. I guess I can find some time, either today or tomorrow for a spar. When works for you?" Naruko wondered.

"I was hoping we could spar today, if you were free." Sasuke said with some intensity.

" _Oh, he wants to reevaluate where he stands against me after a month of training."_ Naruko thought to herself as she stared at the boy.

Naruko was mostly right, but she missed the fact that the boy in question also wanted to prove to his pretty classmate, that he had gotten stronger.

Agreeing to the spar, Naruko let Sasuke lead her to a training ground. There after a little warm up to two faced off once again.

Naruko stood calmly waiting for Sasuke to make the first move. Realizing this, Sasuke charged in.

Naruko was actually impressed at how fast Sasuke had gotten in the last month. _"He must have really been pushing himself this last month. This is with the resistance seals too."_ Naruko thought to herself as she dodged Sasuke's blow. Still as she sparred against her classmate, she was confidant in the outcome. Not only had she also improved in the last month, but also she still had a large lead on Sasuke. Using her speed, Naruko flowed around Sasuke's blows, until seeing an opening. There, Naruko struck, kicking out at his leg to unbalance the boy. Seeing that Sasuke was now off balance, she spun around and launched a spinning back kick into his chest, knocking Sasuke off of his feet.

"Not bad." Naruko complimented, as she offered her had to the boy. "You have become much faster in last month. I was impressed with how much you have improved in such a short time."

Grabbing Naruko's hand, Sasuke with a light blush said, "Thanks, though I need to keep training. I still wasn't able to keep up."

"Well, if you keep this pace of improvement up, you will definitely get much faster." Naruko said in acknowledgement.

Nodding in agreement, Sasuke looked off in the distance for a moment, and then turning toward Naruko, said, "If you are free, would you like to get some tea with me?"

Naruko with her empathy could tell that even though Sasuke had said this very stoically, the boy was very nervous. Seeing that he was finally reaching out, just said, "When? Now?"

Sasuke just nodded, and so Naruko having both free time and compassion for the socially awkward boy, said, "Sure, lead on."

With that, Sasuke calmly turned to lead her to a teashop in town. Though Naruko could feel his immense relief at not being turned down, she didn't say anything, and just followed behind.

After a few minutes walk, Sasuke led Naruko to a small teashop that she hadn't been to before. Looking around as she entered, she could tell that seemed quiet inside the curtains.

"I haven't been to this teashop before." Naruko commented

"Hmm, I am not a big fan of sweets, and this shop specializes in Onigiri instead of something sweeter like dango." Sasuke said absentmindedly, as he led them to a table.

"Oh that explains it. Usually if I go to a teashop with someone, they want something sweet like dango." Naruko mentioned.

"Is this shop fine? I mean we can go somewhere different." Sasuke said suddenly nervous.

"No, this is fine. I am actually a little hungry, and could use something other than dango to eat." Naruko reassured the boy.

"Oh, good." Sasuke said relieved.

Sitting down, the two Shinobi in training lapsed in silence as they waited for the waitress to come over. Looking at the menu, Naruko realized they did specialize in Onigiri, seeing that the menu had several options. Being truthful when she mentioned being hungry, Naruko decided to get some Onigiri. So when the waitress came to take their order, Naruko ordered two Onigiri filled with salmon and some tea. Sasuke ordered tea and two Onigiri as well, but with bonito flake.

As Naruko and Sasuke waited on their food, Naruko decided to start up some conversation.

"So, Sasuke, I haven't really seen you hanging out with anyone from class before. Any particular reason." Naruko wondered.

"Not many of our classmates take this seriously, and I didn't think I had time for any foolishness." Sasuke replied.

"Speaking of that, don't tell any of your fan club about us hanging out, or those girls will never leave me alone." Naruko joked.

"Hn. Don't remind me." Sasuke said in frustration.

"Yeah, that is about my feeling too." Naruko said laughing. "I just don't get those girls, I don't really understand why they want to be kunoichi. However who I really blame is the academy."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke wondered with puzzlement

"Well, I honestly don't think our academy is preparing our classmates for the real world. Only the few of us from clans or the few that are aware of the real world, truly understand what it means to sign up to be Shinobi. Many of our classmates just think this is about fun and games. The very fact the academy even puts up with the fan girl behavior is an example of what I am talking about. That should have been stamped out long ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think the academy should break our innocence of this world, but at least make the students treat our future seriously." Naruko said with some seriousness.

"I hadn't really thought of that before. It was just annoying to me, but I can see your point." Sasuke agreed.

"Yeah, I mean, I have even heard the girls talking about impressing you by dieting or avoiding training so they don't get too muscular. That is just dangerous, and the very fact that academy students think dieting is somehow a good idea, is both embarrassing and horrible. Dieting and not training will stunt their development as Shinobi later in life, especially chakra potential." Naruko said in frustration.

"Hn, I didn't really know thought about that. I rarely pay attention to those girls." Sasuke said in reply.

Soon the food came, and the conversation became lighter over their meal. In fact they mainly talked about their training.

"So, Sasuke, do you know any elemental ninjutsu?" Naruko wondered.

"Yes, I have been studying fire ninjutsu. It is a typical element of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke responded. "What about you?" He wondered.

"That's impressive, not many in our class are capable of that, and yes I have also been studying elemental ninjutsu." Naruko mentioned.

"What element have you been studying?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, I can actually use ninjutsu from every element, though I only know two ninjutsu for each element."

Eyes widening Sasuke just said, "Impressive."

Sensing a rising inferiority complex and some jealously, Naruko decide to nip that in the bud by saying, "Now don't feel bad, you see, I have been an orphan since birth, and so I had a lot of free time growing up. I mainly learned chakra manipulation like that to fill the gaping silence that being alone will give you."

"Oh." Sasuke said in understanding. Realizing that Naruko was like him, and had been alone too.

"It's okay, now that I have my friends, I am not so alone. Plus now I have new reasons to get stronger than filling the loneliness." Naruko commented.

"What kind of reasons?" Sasuke asked with curiosity.

"I have been training, so that I can protect my precious people. I don't want anymore people than needed to experience that kind of loneliness, so I want to get strong enough to create a world of peace." Naruko said with determination.

Sasuke sat silently in slight admiration at her conviction.

"Do you have any goals for why you get stronger?" Naruko wondered.

"It isn't as noble, but I have to get stronger so that I can kill a certain man, and then revive my clan." Sasuke said with his own determination.

Knowing Sasuke's history, Naruko was simply silent for a moment before saying, "Sasuke, I know your reasons for wanting to make your brother pay, but I want you to think on this, strength from hatred isn't the strength to overcome, no, only strength from love can do that."

Sasuke was silent for several moments in response, before Naruko sensing the mood, decide to change the subject.

"So, different topic here, but have you thought about the future, after graduation. Who would you like on your genin team?" Naruko wondered.

"I just want serious Shinobi who won't hold me back. So I guess being on your team, would be nice, but other than that, I am not sure." Sasuke said after a moments pause.

"I can understand that desire. Nothing could be more annoying than working hard the entire time, only to get stuck with someone who doesn't seem to take it seriously." Naruko agreed.

Soon the meal had finished, and it was time to head out. Sasuke trying to be a gentleman, offered to pay, which Naruko let him, so as to spare his ego.

"This was nice." Naruko said. "We should hang out again. I am always looking to make more friends."

Sasuke, who Naruko could sense was pleased by this, just said, "I agree, we should hang out again. Maybe we can train together." Sasuke proposed.

"Yeah, I think that would be fun." Naruko agreed, and with that said her goodbyes.

Walking home, Naruko reflected on her new friend.

" _He is a socially awkward person, but I can see that he could be a good friend, at least once he truly comes out of his shell."_ Naruko thought to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

January was now in full swing, and with the New Year some changes developed. First, the academy was ramping up for the graduation exam that would happen in late May, and because of this, the class was focusing mainly on refinement of skills instead of learning new skills. That isn't to say Iruka-sensei never covered anything new, but mainly this period was designed to polish the skills they had learned over the course of their education. In fact the only place where new skills were taught seemed to be Ayumi-sensei's seduction classes.

In those classes, Naruko and Ino were learning how to direct conversations to subtly extract information. It was fascinating work, and Naruko could see many applications outside the direct context of seduction. _"Hell, this is an important skill for the Hokage to have. Getting your way shouldn't only come at a knife's edge."_ Naruko thought to herself.

The next change the New Year brought came in the form a more social Sasuke. He seemed to be trying to engage her in conversations at the academy. This, of course royally infuriated his fan girls, if the frothing mad looks they shot her were any indication. Thankfully Naruko was far too skilled to be bullied by them, and once they realized this, the sudden switch to severe depression was almost funny.

The final change that January brought was that Anko had deemed Naruko sufficient enough in the wakizashi to both, practice without her, and to begin sparing with a wakizashi. Apparently she had developed an appropriate level of muscle memory, and Anko was confidant that she had the proper forms, that bad habits were less likely to develop. Naruko was glad for this, but she was also sad that lessons with Anko might be coming to an end. However, Anko reassured her that they could still meet up to spar and train.

"Don't worry girl, you still have too much to learn to be cut free." Anko said with a smile.

"That's good, I wouldn't want an old woman like you to get bored." Naruko replied.

"OLD! I will have you know that I am a spring chicken." Anko said insulted.

"That spring must have been quiet a long time ago though." Naruko said with a smirk.

"Come here you!" Anko said as she went after Naruko. However the girl in question just used Soru to escape. This caused Anko to chase after Naruko through the village. She never seemed to be able to catch up, because whenever Anko was about to grab Naruko, she would use a burst of Soru to evade. Eventually the two made their way to a training ground, where a nice long spar took place.

Naruko using her full speed under the resistance seals charged Anko, who was caught off guard by the change. Quickly approaching, Naruko used Soru when she was within five feet of Anko to disappear from Anko's sight. Coming in, Naruko launched a powerful spin kick at Anko's shoulder, which she was barely able to raise her guard enough to block. Still the force of the kick slammed Anko back several feet. Racing forward to take advantage of catching Anko off balance, Naruko blurred in front of the woman to attack. Using amaguriken level speed, Naruko launched dozens of punches in a single second. Much to Naruko's surprise she destroyed a log that Anko used Kawarimi with. Turning, Naruko was able to block several return strikes from Anko. For several moments the two blurred around the training ground exchanging blows. All of a sudden Anko launched her Sen'eijashu, and Naruko had to use Kawarimi to avoid the snakes Anko sent at her. It was a good thing too, because the snakes crushed her replacement log.

Appearing to Anko's right, Naruko used Fūton: Daitoppa. She was only partially successful though, because Anko was able to dodge most of the wind attack. She was only clipped, and sent spinning back. Rushing forward to take advantage of this, Naruko reengaged Anko in taijutsu. Dodging Anko's front kick, Naruko struck back using a rear horse kick combined with a Rankyaku blast, to blow through Anko's guard and blast her back. Attacking while Anko was stunned, Naruko used Soru to get inside Anko's guard and hammer her with a dozen blows at amaguriken speed. On the twelfth blow, Anko was able to get her guard up enough to block. The woman then seemed to kick it up a notch, and struck out with lightening fast blows. Jumping back Naruko was able avoid most of the attack, but could definitely feel the one punch that snuck through and tagged her ribs.

Blurring forward, Anko took the initiative, and attacked with punishing force. It was all that Naruko could do to keep up. While she was fast enough to block each blow, the force behind them jarred her every time she took a hit. Using Soru to disengage, Naruko then reappeared to Anko's left, where she launched a dull Rankyaku blade at Anko to blow her off of her feet.

Sent tumbling, Anko was able to roll back to her feet in time catch Naruko's rush. Soon, the two were once again blurring around the training ground exchanging blows.

Sometime later, the two, exhausted kunoichi sat propped up against a tree in the training ground, trying to catch their breath.

"That was an impressive show you put up." Anko complimented.

"Thanks, I wanted to see how far I still needed to go. You still are holding back." Naruko said.

"Honestly, I am not holding back as much as you would think. I would say that you are above the average chunin. In speed you are well above even that. Which is damn impressive for someone still in the academy." Anko exclaimed much to Naruko's pleasure. "Of course, I was a chunin at 12, so…" And then Anko opened her mouth and ruined Naruko's good mood.

"The only reason I haven't graduated yet is that we are in a time of peace, and the graduation age is increased." Naruko faux pouted. Truthfully Naruko was happy that she wasn't forced to graduate early.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, that is what they all say." Anko replied.

"Hey Anko, how do you use Ki? Because at one point I thought you blasted me with it to gain an edge." Naruko wondered.

"Yeah, I did, though it only threw you for a split second. That was enough to get a blow in. Still, Ki, or spiritual pressure, is the manifestation of one's will. Usually Shinobi will express this as murderous intent or Sakki." Anko explained.

"Can any emotion or intent be used?" Naruko wondered.

"I guess, but to truly exert Ki against an opponent requires a sort of dominating mindset. It requires a single focus, to exert your will onto another. That is why murderous intent is used, because Shinobi can get quiet good at focusing that thought. Though I have heard some ninja can use absolute determination for their Ki too. This can have a positive effect for your own forces, and break the wills of the enemy." Anko said.

"Can you teach me how to use my Ki?" Naruko asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, it is a skill that can be taught, just like any other, and don't worry I will teach you how to use your Ki" Anko assured her friend.

"Thanks!" Naruko chirped happily.

"I guess if you are interested we can start now." Anko offered.

"Sure, I am free to learn today." Naruko replied.

"Ok, so first thing you need to understand, is that Ki doesn't use chakra, it is pure will power. However, the effects of Ki can be affected by chakra, either to increase the potency, or to block out another's Ki. Ki can also be used in conjunction with genjutsu to a terrifying degree. So, first things first, when using Ki you need to have a sort of powerful presence, and having a strong imagination helps with this. It helps when starting, to sort of imagine or concentrate on a single thought or image. Then with all your being, push that image onto me. At first, it will be difficult to do so. Using Ki will be like using a muscle that you haven't exercised before." Anko explained.

"Is there an image or thought I should focus on? Something that will be easier to use?" Naruko wondered.

"Well, like I said, most Shinobi use Sakki or Murderous Intent, as their focus. So you could always focus on killing someone or something that makes you furious." Anko advised.

"I will try, but I don't know if that will work well. I don't have anyone that I want to kill." Naruko admitted.

"Hmm, well give it a try, and if not we can figure something else." Anko said.

With that, Naruko spent the next several minutes trying to focus all her will on imagining killing someone who made her angry. However she couldn't generate enough Sakki to stun a mouse. In fact, to Anko it just looked like the girl was constipated.

Finally, Naruko stopped trying to imagine killing someone. Looking up at Anko, Naruko conveyed her issues.

"The problem I keep having, is that one, I have never killed anyone, and two, I have no desire to kill anyone. It makes it hard to concentrate on my desire to kill, when I don't have that desire." Naruko explained.

"Well, what did you feel in the academy when you had to slaughter animals?" Anko wondered.

"Huh? What do you mean? We never had to do that in class." Naruko said puzzled.

"Really! Weird! It was a requirement during my time at the academy. A student couldn't move up to the next year without using a kunai or their bare hands to slaughter a livestock animal. I had to do this starting at the end of year one." Anko said with confusion over the change.

"Well, you were in the academy during wartime, maybe they wanted to make sure you could kill before they wasted time training and graduating you." Naruko speculated. "Also, maybe requiring children to kill animals was causing a high dropout rate amongst civilian born children, especially during their early years."

"That could be true. Still that means you have never ended a life, even if it was just an animal." Anko stated. "Well, the only way to fix this is to take you hunting. Which I feel will be both a lot easier on you, and more realistic of how to kill, than just walking up to something and slitting their throats."

With that, Anko led Naruko away from the village, and into the woods so that they could find some game animals.

"So, while we are out here, I will begin by teaching you how to notice signs of an animal's passing. Then, I will teach you how to track that animal down, were we will then set traps, or depending on the size go in for a kill." Anko informed her student.

"I got it." Naruko stated in understanding.

After walking for about an hour, Anko suddenly stopped. She was silent for a moment, and then whispered, "Ok, see that bent brush?"

Naruko looked over where Anko was pointing toward some broken plant limbs. After nodding, Anko continued whispering, "Okay, that is always a good sign of passing animals, whether passing wildlife, or humans. Now to determine what passed, we need to look for tracks. Which you can see looking over here, that the animal was a good-sized deer. That makes sense, because it is January, the deer are more active now. Depending where in the village you are, will determine whether you can hunt that animal. We will hunt after this deer, but only because we are on the complete opposite side of the village from the Nara's deer land."

Whispering back, Naruko asked, "Okay, I understand, but how do you know when this deer passed?"

"If you look at the tracks, you can see that they look and feel fresh. They are still very distinctive. However I also know our target, because deer like to move in a somewhat predictable manner two times a day. Those times are mornings, when they are hungry from just waking up, and then evening, when they are making their way back to their beds. This track is actually too fresh to be this morning, which means that the deer just passed through." Anko explained.

She then motioned Naruko to silently follow her. Together the two kunoichi silently made their way through the woods, along the way, Anko would point out signs of various animals passing. Quite frequently she would stop to listen to her surroundings. Anko even pointed out the smell of the deer's urine, when they passed where the deer had peed.

Eventually they started to approach a clearing, when Anko stopped again.

"Okay, up ahead is a clearing, which contains several trees that drop acorns. The line of slight is good for the deer too, which means a deer might feel comfortable stopping to eat. Let's approach as silently as possible, and from behind the trees."

Anko led Naruko silently to the clearing, where she hid behind a group of trees. Sure enough in the middle of the clearing, and under a large oak tree, was a deer feasting on the acorns.

Anko signaled to Naruko that she was now on her own, and had to make the kill. Feeling both nervous and excited, the girl looked out into the clearing from behind a tree, and tried to decide how to approach without alerting the deer. The clearing was too wide to make it from the treetops, so Naruko decided to stalk the deer from the ground. Thankfully they had approached downwind from the deer. Unfortunately there was no cover between Naruko and the deer, so she needed to figure an approach out.

Naruko determined that approaching from underground might be the best, as long as she didn't cause too many vibrations. So using the Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, Naruko sunk below ground. Moving slowly, Naruko approached the area that she could sense the deer was in. Coming in under the deer, but towards the head, Naruko slowly started to rise to the surface. She could tell that the deer still wasn't spooked, so Naruko drew a kunai, and once in position, burst from the earth. With the deer too startled to move, Naruko was upon her target in a flash. Naruko struck out with the kunai twice. The first was a slash across the neck, and then she planted her kunai deep into the deer's lungs. The deer was so deeply wounded, that it could only take two steps, before crashing to the ground.

Panting with adrenaline, Naruko realized how fast her heart was beating. She didn't feel tired, but her blood was pumping in a way she had never felt before. Looking over her kill, Naruko was proud that she had completed her task, and had done so in a way that prevented the deer from suffering. Still, now that her heart was settling down, she noticed that her hand was shaking. Looking at the dead doe, she felt a little sad that she had killed an animal for training, and promised herself that she would not waste this animal.

"That was really impressive!" Anko praised as she approached. "It was both sudden and precise. You reacted in an instant to target the vulnerable areas. Good job."

"Thanks." Naruko said as her heart finally calmed. "Hey Anko, I don' want to waste this deer. You wouldn't happen to know how to go about field butchering would you?"

"Yeah I do, and it is a good call not to waste meat. That would just be cruel." Anko stated.

Soon, Anko had Naruko hoist up the deer to begin the field butchering process. In no time at all Naruko had gutted and skinned the deer. Soon she was breaking it down under Anko's direction. Thankfully Naruko had a storage scroll on her, so she could easily transport the meat home.

Once Naruko was done breaking down the deer, she turned toward Anko.

"Now that we are done, what is next?" She wondered.

"Well, today's hunt was to get you use to tracking, and then killing your target. I am proud of how you did, and how you didn't hesitate. Hopefully now that you have killed something, you will have a better understanding of using your Ki." Anko stated.

"Yeah, I think I can better understand how to visualize Sakki, but instead of murderous intent or Sakki being my focus, I am going to try to learn to focus on pure determination. I will still try to learn Sakki, incase it becomes useful one day, but I like the idea of being able to use other emotions or concepts." Naruko replied.

"That is always a good way to look at it." Anko concluded. "Well, let's make our way out of these woods."

With that, the two kunoichi made their way back to the village. Walking into Konoha proper, the two soon said their goodbyes for the day.

"See you later, Anko. I am going to meet up with Ino, and tell her about this." Naruko stated as she walked off.

"Bye!" Anko cheerfully wave towards her younger friend.

" _Before meeting up with Ino, I need to clean myself off."_ Naruko thought with a sweat drop. Looking down she realized that her clothes had traces of blood and dirt all over them, and not only that, but she had blood around her fingernails. So, making her way home, Naruko went to clean up and change clothes.

Once Naruko got home, she stored the meat in her freezer, unfortunately she didn't have enough room, and so she had to transfer some of the meat to a preserving storage scroll. After that, she made her way to her shower to wash up.

Afterwards, Naruko left her apartment to go find Ino. Tracking her down was easy though, because she was at her families flower shop. Walking in, Naruko greeted her girlfriend with a hug, and started to explain her day.

"Hey Ino, guess what I got up to today." Naruko said.

"I give, what did you do today?" Ino asked in curiosity.

"Well after sparring with Anko, I asked her to teach me how to project Ki. However Anko only really knew how to teach Sakki or murderous intent. The problem with that is that I have never killed anything. So, Anko's solution was to take me hunting." Naruko shared with her girlfriend.

"Oh wow, did you find anything on your hunt?" Ino wondered.

"Yeah, we found a deer, and Anko had me kill it. It was an interesting experience. I can definitely say that with certainty. When we came upon the deer, I had to use the Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu to get close to the deer. When I was close enough I had to burst from the ground, and killed the deer as quickly as possible to prevent suffering." Naruko explained.

"Hmm, are you okay with your first exposure to killing something?" Ino asked her girlfriend.

"You know, I think I am. The emotional training we receive in the academy was sufficient enough that I didn't have an issue killing the deer. Now, I don't think it will be anywhere close to that smooth of an experience if my kill is a person." Naruko stated with some confidence.

"Well, I am glad that you had a good experience then." Ino simply stated.

"Yeah, I actually think you should get that experience too. It would help you adjust to the Shinobi lifestyle better." Naruko reasoned.

"If you think so, then you can take me hunting soon." Ino agreed.

"Good, I could use more experience tracking, and this way we can learn together." Naruko reasoned, and then looking over at Ino, asked, "By the way, what are you doing in the shop this late in the day. Normally you have closed up by now?"

"Oh, well I am about to start putting together arrangements for a party that hired us." Ino explained.

"Hmm, well do you want any help?" Naruko wondered.

"Sure, I would love some." Ino replied with a smile.

With that, Naruko spent the next hour creating flower arrangements. Luckily she had plenty of experience because of normal kunoichi classes at the academy. With Naruko and Ino working together, it didn't take long, especially once Naruko created a few Kage Bunshin to help out. Once they were done, Ino invited Naruko to stay for dinner. Always happy to join the Yamanaka family for anything, Naruko agreed to stay. After the two girls washed up, they joined Ino's mother, Akane in the kitchen.

"Hey girls!" Akane greeted. "Ino, were you able to finish that party's order?"

"Yes, Naruko stopped in to see me, and offered her help. The work went quickly, and everything is ready back in the shop for delivery. By the way, I invited Naruko for dinner." Ino informed her mother.

"Well, thank you for your help Naruko, and you are welcome for dinner." Akane said in gratitude.

"I was happy to help, and thank you." Naruko replied.

Inoichi soon joined them for dinner, during which Naruko explained her day with Anko, and her experience hunting.

"Hmm, I knew Anko would be a good influence on you girls. She is a serious kunoichi even if she is a bit excitable. I am glad I invited her to join us for your birthday party." Inoichi said.

"I had wondered why she there, besides the fact of her being a colleague." Ino stated.

"Well, of all my colleagues, Anko is the most personable. Besides her being a role model for you two, I also thought she could benefit from making more friends." Inoichi confessed

"Well, I am glad to have gotten to know her." Naruko chimed in. "So, thank you for your interference."

Soon dinner was done, and Naruko said goodbye for the night. It was a school night, and she wanted to get back to her apartment so she could get a good night's sleep.

January continued on, only without the girls seeing Anko four times a week for training. Naruko and Ino still met up with the woman, but not as much for training. They still spent time with their friend, and Anko continued to help the girls improve. Ino was becoming deadly with senbon, and with her knowledge of plants from her family's shop combined with Anko's instruction on herbalism; Ino was developing into a deadly kunoichi.

Naruko continued to practice projecting her Ki, but instead of focusing on Sakki, she used absolute determination. In fact, Naruko was improving her ability there each day. While she still took several moments to get into the right frame of mind, Naruko had gotten to the point of being able to project her Ki on every attempt. Remembering the abilities of Haki from One Piece, Naruko decided that Ki was a lot like Conqueror's Haki. With that in mind, she created a mindset of absolute determination combined with the mindset of one who would crush any opponent. The combination was quite powerful, and Anko was really impressed.

"That is quite some Ki. Even I feel hesitant to challenge you when you project such a presence." Anko stated. "I think the reason it is so effective, is the fact that most ninja will have been exposed to Sakki to the point that only the truly powerful or really bloodthirsty will faze them, but you project this sense of unbreakable will, with a challenge me at your own peril flavor added. Now you just need to be able to use your Ki at a moment's notice."

Naruko agreed, and so continued to practice jumping into the mindset of Absolute Determination. Just as a joke, Naruko started to refer to the mindset as Haoshoku Ki. However it seem to stick, with Ino using that term as well. Naruko wondered if it was possible to generate a strong enough version of her Haoshoku Ki to actually knock someone out. Shinobi, with their chakra training would be difficult, but civilians should be possible. Anko had mentioned that a powerful enough Sakki could knock out civilians. A powerful enough Sakki could bring even Shinobi to their knees. So with this in mind, Naruko continued to practice Haoshoku Ki.

" _I wonder, since it is possible to project a different mindset than that of Murderous Intent, what other mindsets are possible."_ Naruko thought to herself one day.

With that thought, Naruko began her experimentation in projecting other mindsets. One, she based on something she read in the Ranma manga. In the manga, Ranma's father Genma had created the martial arts school Umi-sen ken. The opening move for this school was the ability to completely erase your presence, while projecting an air of invisibility. The person didn't actually become invisible, but so completely erased their presence that it became hard to notice them. So, Naruko started to practice projecting a 'don't notice me' Ki. It was hard coming up with this mindset at first, but by combining the mindset of harmlessness and ignore me together, she could do so. This however took a lot of effort, and if she got distracted, Naruko found that she would lose the effect, especially since it was hard maintaining that mindset along with suppressing her chakra.

The other mindset she was creating, was something she was practicing with Ino. This she called the mindset of the Seductress. Naruko found with some focus, she could project this Ki onto Ino, who was able to describe the feeling.

"I feel like a timid mouse, being stalked by a cat, but instead of fear, I want to be devoured. It is strange, this Ki makes me freeze in place in submissive lust." Ino commented on the effect.

However practicing on Ino, became a double-edged sword, because Ino would become extremely aroused when she was under Naruko's spell. While Ino wouldn't move while the Ki projection was active, once Naruko let up on the pressure, Ino would pounce in lust. Funny enough, Naruko actually mastered projecting her Ki due to this, because to get the chance to practice on Ino, Naruko needed to be able to project her Ki in a moments notice just to refreeze Ino, otherwise the afternoon would be pleasantly wasted.

True to her agreement with Sasuke, Naruko started to spend more time with the boy. They would spar twice a week, and then grab tea to chat. This is what led to Sasuke engaging her in conversation at the academy. He even started to show up at the group training, that Naruko, Ino, and Hinata would have. Naruko was impressed with how such an antisocial boy, was trying to come out of his shell. By the end of January, Sasuke was looking like he would become a regular fixture of their group. This was fine with both Ino and Hinata, who were both pleased to help someone else open up.

Naruko even learned something about the Sharingan one day at tea.

"You see, unlike Hinata's Byakugan, I wasn't born with the Sharingan available. The Sharingan has to be activated at some point. Not all Uchiha awaken their Sharingan either." Sasuke explained.

"Hmm, so how do you awaken the Sharingan?" Naruko wondered.

"Well, from what I have both read and heard growing up, inside each Uchiha is a special chakra that affects the optic nerves, and will transform the normal eye into a Sharingan if a special condition is met. That condition is if a certain level of emotion is felt. Many Uchiha awake their eyes trying to protect others, though sometimes loss can also awaken the Sharingan." Sasuke explained.

"Hmm, so if you ever felt desperate enough trying to protect someone, your Sharingan could awaken." Naruko asked for clarification.

"Yeah, supposedly that is how it happens." Sasuke answered.

With that conversation, Naruko had an idea on how to awaken Sasuke's Sharingan in a controlled environment, and not in the middle of combat. She had read up on some genjutsu based Fuinjutsu in Mito's library not that long ago, and figured that if she created an appropriate seal, she could cause Sasuke to generate the proper emotions needed. Fuinjutsu based genjutsu was different than regular genjutsu, for one main difference. That difference was that you couldn't break out of a genjutsu as long as the seal was active, because no matter how many times you tried to flush the foreign chakra from your coils, the seal would keep reapplying it seamlessly. Naruko determined that she could apply a multiple layered genjutsu, and then she could create a stressful situation, where Sasuke would have to protect her. However Sasuke wouldn't be fast enough at his normal level. Hopefully that would be the push needed to get Sasuke to awake his Sharingan.

With this plan in motion, Naruko spent most of February putting the details together. She would tag Sasuke with a genjutsu seal, and then Naruko decided that using a clone of herself as the victim, would work. After that she would lure Sasuke to an area layered in Fuinjutsu based genjutsu. There they would battle, and she would fight him at a speed just always too fast for him to win.

Thankfully, February was a quiet month for the girls. All Naruko and Ino needed to do during the month, was work on their various skills and projects. Naruko was able to start to develop better control on developing pressurized chakra to use with her chakra point. This combined with all of her other projects ate up a lot of free time. Ino, was likewise busy. Between working at her parents shop, training her Soru and Ninjutsu, and mastering her senbon aim, Ino had very little free time. Out of all the girls Hinata had the most free time. She spent her month working on her speed both with Soru, and her hand speed. Hinata was hoping to learn the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, and knew hand speed was important.

So it was, that in the first week in March, that Naruko enacted her plan. Naruko created an elaborate seal to be placed on Sasuke. This seal had multiple layers. The first layer confused the target, so that they wouldn't think to look for genjutsu, then the next layer created excessive desperation. Another layer made the target want to solve the problem on their own, and the final layer made them extremely protective.

Naruko, under the guise of increasing Sasuke's resistance seals to level two, was able to tag Sasuke with the genjutsu seal. Then she hung around to allow the seal to take affect. She waited around an hour. Then using Kawarimi with a Kage Bunshin, she ran off to change clothes, and so she could apply a henge. After getting ready, she attacked.

Appearing before the genjutsu induced Sasuke was tall figure covered in all black.

"Who are you?" Sasuke question the strange figure.

The figure was silent for a moment, before saying in an ominous voice, "You brother sent me to remind you of your lesson." Then the man in black, blurred forward faster than Sasuke could react. Kicking the boy, the man then turned, and grabbed Naruko before taking off.

"Sasuke! Help me!" Naruko shouted.

" _NO, not again!_ " Sasuke thought in desperation. Getting up, he chased after the man in black.

Following the man through the woods, Sasuke was gaining ground on the kidnapper.

" _Almost there, just a little bit further, and I can reach her!"_ Sasuke chanted to himself.

Reaching a clearing, the man turned to face Sasuke.

"You shouldn't have followed. If you had let me just take the girl, you would have needed to die along with her." The man growled out.

Then, tossing the bound girl against a tree, the man drew a kunai and charged Sasuke. With their blades clashing, Sasuke realized that could barely keep up.

" _Damn, If only I hadn't increased my resistance seals, I would be fast enough. I don't even have time to turn them off. This man won't relent."_ He thought.

Minutes went by, and Sasuke was getting really desperate to rescue Naruko. He was getting tired, and wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up this pace. Finally the figure in black relented for a moment. In the pause between clashes, Sasuke noticed he was between the man and Naruko.

"This isn't getting us anywhere. I came for the girl anyway, so I might as well kill her, and make you watch." The man said menacingly.

"You think I will let you! You will have to go through me first!" Sasuke screamed out.

"That was the plan." The man replied.

With that, Sasuke was hit with crippling levels of Murderous Intent. It was so bad he could barely stand.

Trying to recover, Sasuke thought to himself, _"NO not again!"_ He then slashed his hand against his kunai, hoping the pain would push him. It seemed to work, but then he noticed the man racing forward.

Bracing for the charge, Sasuke realized to late, that the man wasn't targeting him, but Naruko instead. Turning, Sasuke rushed to meet the man.

The man was just in front of Naruko. Eyes widening, Sasuke watched has he raised his blade to kill her. With a burst of speed, Sasuke threw himself between the two. As the blade came down, Sasuke noticed that time seemed to have slowed down. He could see the kunai coming as though in slow motion. Every detail of the blade seared itself into his mind, and with every ounce of speed he could; Sasuke raised his blade to block. Just as he thought he wouldn't be fast enough, their blades connected. Spinning, Sasuke was able to kick the man away from Naruko.

Pulling his body into a stance, his muscles screaming in pain, Sasuke waited for the next charge.

The clapping he heard was jarring, and Sasuke angrily asked, "What is so great, that you are applauding?"

"Just that everything worked out, just as I planned." The man said, with a changing voice. Then, with extreme surprise, Sasuke watched the man rip his head covering off to reveal.

"NARUKO! What is going on?!" Sasuke screamed out in confusion.

"Relax, I will explain everything." Naruko said as soothingly as she could. "Let me just take off that Genjutsu seal, I tagged you with." With that, the Naruko behind him ripped something off of his back.

"Okay, and now to take care of the area genjutsu." Naruko commented, as she made a few seals, before slamming her had to the ground.

"Now, what happened here tonight, was that I am giving you a gift." Naruko said cheekily.

"A gift!" Sasuke said with outrage.

"Yep! Your Sharingan in fact!" Naruko announced with cheer.

"Wha..What?" Sasuke stuttered out in confusion.

"Yeah, after you told me how to awaken your Sharingan, I decided that it was much safer to do so in a controlled environment than in battle, so here we are. Guess what? It worked! You have your Sharingan." Naruko said with a smile. "Congratulations!" With that she threw him a small clamshell mirror.

Grabbing the mirror out of reflex, Sasuke with shaking hand, opened the mirror to look at his eyes. In shock, he met his reflection in the mirror. Just like she said, his eyes were now red with two tomoe in each eye.

"Now, let's go grab a bite to eat to celebrate, my treat!" Naruko said interrupting Sasuke's staring at his eyes.

Still a little numb from the abrupt change in perception, Sasuke just dumbly nodded, and followed behind his friend.


	14. Chapter 14

As Sasuke trailed behind someone that he starting to suspect was turning into his friend, he wasn't sure what think. Too much had happened in the last few minutes, that his mind was a chaos of mixed emotions.

" _I should be happy, but all I am is numb."_ Sasuke thought to himself. _"I understand Naruko's point, that developing my Sharingan in a controlled environment is better than a chaotic battle. However, I honestly thought I was going to die protecting her, but that was a trick."_

That wasn't the only thought that led to his numbness. Sasuke even felt mixed emotions about awakening his Sharingan in the first place, which really surprised him.

" _How can I not be ecstatic about having my families Dojutsu? It is the proof that the Uchiha blood runs through my veins. It means that I am one step closer to my brother."_ Sasuke wondered.

That was the issue though, because part of Sasuke had never thought he could begin to catch up. There was even a part of Sasuke that didn't want to catch up, that if he never awakened his Sharingan, he would never be his brother's equal. There was a part of Sasuke that wanted to let go of his revenge, and maybe if he never had the Sharingan, then he would never be able to face his brother. It would be a form of peace, and while it might eat at him, the decision would have been taken out of his hands. These were thoughts that he rarely allowed himself to think about except in the dead of the night with only the dead for company, but now he was forced to confront these thoughts.

Looking up at the moon with a sigh. _"It doesn't matter now, what is done is done. I have the Sharingan now, and I will face my brother. Once this is over, I can finally have my peace. My clan can finally have their peace."_ Sasuke thought in resolve.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he caught up to Naruko, who had been silent while leading Sasuke towards the village.

"Okay there?" Naruko asked as she nudged him.

"Yeah, I guess. I just have a lot on my mind." Sasuke admitted.

"Well, don't keep it all bottled up." Naruko said with a smile. "You aren't alone. You have friends now to share your burdens with."

With a small smile, Sasuke just nodded.

The two continued their walk in silence for a little while longer. Soon though, something began nagging at Sasuke as he played the confrontation in his mind.

"Hey Naruko, why did you say 'your brother sent me to remind you of your lesson' during our confrontation earlier tonight? How did you know what my brother said to me?" Sasuke wondered.

"Oh I didn't." Naruko replied.

"But, what you said sounded like someone referring to 'That Night'." Sasuke said in confusion.

"OH, well I am sorry about that, but using what little I know about that night, I simply created a scenario to make you dread something. I knew that you confronted your brother, and since you are alive and hate him, will he must have said something to you. I simply inferred from there." Naruko said to answer Sasuke's confusion.

"Hmm, so it was just a coincidence." Sasuke sighed.

"Yep, and I am sorry if you were hurt by it, but I needed to make the situation real to you." Naruko said with some remorse.

"It's okay. Since your plan worked, clearly it was needed." Sasuke determined.

"Well, like I said, I am treating you to dinner to celebrate, so how about Yakiniku Q. That is a nice restaurant." Naruko proposed.

"That works for me." Sasuke said with a little bit tiredness creeping into his voice.

"Great! Let's grab Ino along the way. Her home is on the way, and that way she can join the celebration." Naruko announced.

So stopping by the Yamanaka's house, the two Shinobi collected Ino, so that she could join them for dinner. Soon the party of three was sitting down in the restaurant grilling their meat.

"So, I guess congratulations are in order." Ino stated, and lifting her tea, proposed, "So, Otsukare! Here's to awakening your Dojutsu, and a successful plan."

With that, the three bumped mugs, before taking a sip. Soon, the three turned back toward their grilling meat. Throughout dinner, each person made sure to keep the conversation light. This was a celebration, and the heavy stuff could wait a day.

When all the food was consumed and Naruko took care of the bill, the three friends made their way out of the restaurant. There Ino and Naruko said goodbye to Sasuke for the night.

"Goodnight Sasuke, I am going to walk Ino home. We will see you tomorrow at the academy, and Sasuke, congratulations again." Naruko said with sincerity.

"Goodnight Sasuke, I will see you tomorrow." Ino chimed in, adding her goodbyes.

"Goodnight to the both of you, and see you tomorrow." Sasuke replied.

With that, Sasuke made his way home. Realizing how tired he was, Sasuke decided to get an early night's sleep. So after a shower to clean up, Sasuke started getting ready for bed. Looking into the mirror as he brushed his teeth, Sasuke focused on his eyes. With a little concentration, Sasuke sent some chakra towards his eyes, and watched as his eyes changed. Everything gained an extra level of focus and clarity. Looking at his Sharingan, Sasuke was pleased that he possessed two tomoe in each eye. Most Uchiha's newly awoken Sharingan possess only one tomoe, however from what he could remember Itachi's Sharingan had also possessed two tomoe.

With a sigh, Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, and then finishing up, made his way to bed.

" _I can only hope tomorrow isn't as exciting."_ Sasuke thought to himself as he got in bed. With that last thought, Sasuke allowed his exhaustion to carry him into sleep.

With it being March, the academy was in review mode for the graduating class, and Naruko was bored to death. The only thing she had to look forward to was Ayumi-sensei's seduction lessons, and unfortunately Iruka-sensei was pulling even Ayumi-sensei into review mode.

"I am sorry girls, but we will have to cut the lessons back to maybe once or twice a week. There are a lot of students who need help to improve their chances of graduating. Don't worry though, we have covered a lot material in the last six months, and I think you girls have learned all you will need at your age. If you really enjoyed learning this material, then once you are older, you can revisit these lessons, but until then just keep you skills sharp." Ayumi-sensei announced to Naruko and Ino.

Naruko and Ino understood, but both girls were disappointed. Ayumi-sensei's seduction class was the only class where the girls were learning anything new. With the knowledge that they wouldn't be learning anything new at the academy, Naruko and Ino decided to focus on their personal training. Talking to both Hinata and Sasuke, the girls discovered how bored the other two were as well. So, the group of friends decided to work on improving themselves as much as they could before graduation.

Naruko decided to try and perfect the skills she was still having trouble with. The skills she wanted to focus on were the Kamisori, Kijin Raishuu Dan, and her control of chakra pressure. On the Kamisori front, she could take ten to fifteen steps in the air before she lost control. This was impressive, however because the point was to be able to last as long as she wanted, Naruko wanted to improve this skill to the point that she could run on the air pretty much indefinitely. With the Kijin Raishuu Dan, Naruko could pull her arms apart with enough force to generate a vacuum, the problem she was having was in shaping and directing that vacuum into a cutting force. Naruko knew it was only a matter of time before she discovered the trick, so she kept it up. As for her control over chakra pressure that was coming along great, mainly because she could use Kage Bunshin to help speed up the process unlike the other two techniques that needed physical conditioning. Naruko could now use chakra pressure to raise or lower herself off of her chakra point, almost like doing push ups, but the trick she was working on now was rotating in a circle. She discovered that by creating high and low pressure zones, just could sort of twist the chakra pressure, which in turn would rotate her around her chakra point. It was extremely challenging, especially when one considers the balance needed to maintain this position.

Naruko's next goal with chakra pressure was to be able to generate the effect without needing to create the chakra point. This she was delegating to clones to figure out.

There was one new technique that Naruko want to know if it was possible, and that was the Bakusai Tenketsu. This technique had two aspects that she didn't know if they would work in the real world. One was the technique itself. The ability to destroy inanimate matter with a touch sounded awesome. The second thing she wondered if it was possible was the training results themselves. The training consisted of being slammed repeatedly into a boulder, until the trainee discovers the breaking point. The side effect of this training was a supernatural toughness. So Naruko was researching this in medical texts, to see if anything similar had been discovered. While she was doing that, she also had clones meditating with stones in their hands, to see if they could sense the breaking point.

Ino decided she would practice striking targets with senbon from different angles. She would turn her body so that she could barely see the target, and with only her peripheral vision, try to hit the target. It was coming along pretty well actually. Her next goal was to be able to hit a target without looking. Then she would increase the difficulty by moving while throwing.

She also had Naruko finally increase her resistance seals to level two, because she wanted to be able to use Geppo and Rankyaku. While Ino was dealing with level two, Naruko decided to increase her level to level five. This level felt like moving against rapids, and just walking around caused Naruko's muscles to burn. By the end of the day, both girls were tired.

While Ino was learning to use Geppo and Rankyaku, Naruko finally had come to a decision with Hinata about learning the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken. So Naruko approached Hinata one day.

"Hey Hinata, I have been thinking about the next level of training for you." Naruko started.

"Oh?" Hinata wondered where Naruko was going with this, but she also hoped this conversation was about the Amaguriken.

"Yeah, I have decided to teach you the Amaguriken." Naruko announced, much to Hinata's joy.

Rushing over to give her friend a hug, Hinata was excited. This technique was a Hyuga's dream technique after all.

"The only reason I have been hesitant in teaching you, isn't because I don't trust you, but because I don't trust your family." Naruko admitted to her friend.

"You can trust me, I won't teach anyone without your permission." Hinata promised.

"I trust you. So let's get started." Naruko said.

So Naruko led Hinata over to several large tubs of water, much to Hinata's confusion.

"I have decided the best way to start this training would actually be to start with trying to grab small balls out of the water as fast as you can, and then in the next phase we can move to trying grab chestnuts from a campfire." Naruko explained.

With that, Naruko left Hinata to her training.

Sasuke, it seemed wanted to learn to use his Sharingan, and so he had brought several scrolls on training his Dojutsu. After talking to him about his Sharingan, Naruko realized that Sasuke would learn best both sparing with someone, and just observing others. So, Naruko decide to increase her number of weekly spars with Sasuke.

Naruko also had a thought one day a couple of weeks into training, and so approached Sasuke to find out.

"Hey Sasuke, I have a question about your sight with the Sharingan." Naruko stated.

"Oh?" Sasuke wondered where Naruko was going with this.

"Yeah, I have a speed technique called Soru, and I am curious if you can see and understand what is happening when I use it." Naruko said with curiosity.

"Well, let's see." Sasuke replied with intrigued tone.

With that, Naruko and Sasuke walked out onto the training ground. As soon as Sasuke activated his Dojutsu, Naruko disappeared in a burst of Soru. As she moved around the training ground Sasuke observed her, though even to his eyes she was going extremely fast. In fact her body was a little blurry around the edges that was how fast she was moving. It was a speed that he wouldn't be able to respond to, Sasuke determined.

Finally coming to a rest with a pant, Sasuke heard Naruko say, "Damn, I am still being held back by the new level of the resistance seals."

"Wait, that wasn't as fast as you can go?" Sasuke asked with a little incredulity.

"Nope, I am still getting used to level five of my resistance seals. Actually now that I think about it, I haven't ever taken them off. I am actually curious about how fast I am with out the seals. I guess once I get used to this level, I will deactivate them to see the results." Naruko answered absentmindedly.

At this, Sasuke's eyes widened, and he thought, _"How fast is she really? There was a little blurring, even to my eyes, and that was with level five seals, that she still is getting used to."_

"So, what did you see, when I used my technique?" Naruko asked with curiosity.

"Well, it seems at the beginning you kick off the ground ten times in the blink of an eye. Your legs then become like pistons." Sasuke revealed.

"Hmm, so your eyes were able to understand the principal of Soru. However, I will advise you not to try the technique, at least until your body is ready. If you do, you could rip your leg muscles to shreds." Naruko advised.

"It's that dangerous?" Sasuke wondered.

"Yep, well not once you master the training." Naruko replied.

"Would you show me how to train in Soru?" Sasuke asked.

Thinking about it for a minute, eventually said, "Okay, but you can't teach anyone else without my permission."

"You have my promise." Sasuke promised solemnly.

Naruko, after hearing Sasuke promise, explained how to go about the training. She even told him the best place to learn in the village was the steps up the Hokage monument. Once she was done explaining everything, Naruko left Sasuke to his training, and decided to get back to her own training.

Through the month of March, and most of April the four friends concentrated on improving themselves. It seemed that everyone was meeting their training goals. Naruko even took Ino hunting few times to share the tracking tips that Anko had taught her.

Hinata had moved on to the fire for her Amaguriken training, and because of the danger of this, Naruko left two clones with her to help heal her hands when she hurt them. Naruko figured that within the next couple of weeks Hinata would have developed the speed to fully utilize the Amaguriken.

Ino could hit a target while on the move, just from her peripheral vision. She was even getting really good at doing so with targets she couldn't see. Not only that, but she could occasionally use Geppo. Her Rankyaku was pretty weak though, because while she could produce wind, it was more along the lines of slight gust. Naruko just encouraged her to work on it.

Sasuke was getting pretty far in his Soru training, and in fact would probably be able to use Soru by Graduation. Not only that, but he was learning how to use his eyes really well. In spars with Naruko, Sasuke was getting much better with how he fought using the perception abilities of his eyes. Not enough to win, but still an impressive improvement.

Naruko felt really happy with her progress, because she was finally getting to the point of being able to consistently use Kamisori. She could run on air now, but it really exhausted her. Using Geppo at that speed, and for that long really sent her muscles screaming. She was also making progress with chakra pressure. One of her clones had figured out to generate pressure without the chakra point. Of course the clone immediately lost control, which caused a shockwave to destroyed several nearby clones, and sent the one using it flying back. After that experience, Naruko and her clones made interesting progress. She even learned to generate a controlled shockwave on command. Her next plan was to learn to pressurize nature chakra.

Naruko had also figured out the trick to the Kijin Raishuu Dan, and now could launch a vacuum blade. Her next goal was to master the technique to the point of being able to launch multiple blades in a row.

Finally on the Bakusai Tenketsu front, she was having frustrating progress with that. It seemed the technique was possible, but her clones took several minutes of meditation to find the breaking point. On top of that, the force of the explosion would dispel the clone. This means she would need to go through the actual training of being slammed by a boulder. Naruko was becoming resigned to one day go that horrible idea of training.

" _Though I wonder if the Bakusai Tenketsu training will have any effect on my clones. I mean a Kage Bunshin is a copy of me, and they do get my physical conditioning. They just can't gain more on their own."_ Naruko really wondered about that, because if her clones received even a little of the supernatural toughness of the Bakusai Tenketsu training, then it would totally be worth it.

With one month until graduation, Naruko decided to take a break from training, and was able to convince Ino to relax with her.

"Ino, we need a break. How about the two of us go to the hot springs in town. We can even make it a date, and spend the day together." Naruko proposed.

Ino was excited by the idea, because the two girls hadn't had a proper date in a while.

"That sounds amazing, but just to be clear you are not taking me to get ramen. You already eat at Ichiraku way too much." Ino said in agreement.

Sweat dropping, Naruko said, "have a little more faith in me than that."

So, the two girls took the day off. They started with a relaxing morning at the hot springs, followed by lunch. Then, going for a leisurely walk, Naruko and Ino just chatted.

"You know, I wonder if we will have peaceful days like this when we become genin." Naruko said, as she walked hand in hand with her girlfriend.

"I hope so, otherwise what's the point of fighting." Ino replied.

"Speaking of genin, I really hope we can be on the same team." Naruko said hopefully.

"Me too, I don't know what I would do if I was put on a team with those lazy bums Shikamaru and Choji. Honestly Choji really isn't as bad, but Shikamaru is a bad influence." Ino stated dramatically.

"Hmm, maybe I can talk to the Hokage in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can convince him that we would be good teammates." Naruko said in determination.

"Oh, that would be great. I really hope that you can convince him." Ino replied in a hopeful voice.

Not long after that, Naruko and Ino had dinner at a restaurant that wasn't Ichiraku, before heading back to Naruko's place.

Walking to Naruko's place, Ino turned toward her girlfriend and said, "Thank you for today. I didn't realize how much I needed a day off. That was really sweet of you to suggest a full day date."

"Yeah, we really needed today. I guess we got so caught up in learning everything we could before graduation, that forgot that relaxation is important too." Naruko said in agreement.

Soon the two girls arrived at Naruko's apartment. Walking into the building, Ino turned and pushed Naruko against the wall. Trapping Naruko between her body and the wall, Ino leaned in to give Naruko a toe-curling kiss. Then turning she said, "Catch me if you can!" She then ran up the stairs, laughing.

Naruko stood there dazed for a moment, and then with a devious smile on her face, she chased after Ino. Catching her girlfriend just as Ino made it inside her apartment, Naruko used her Ki of the Seductress to freeze Ino in place.

Walking inside the apartment, Naruko closed her door with her leg, so as to not lose eye contact with Ino. Ino, mean while was trapped. Her body coursing with such desire that she couldn't move. She felt helpless under Naruko's powerful gaze. Ino watched as Naruko stalked her like a predator would prey. Before Ino's trembling knees gave out, she was caught in Naruko's powerful embrace. Holding her trembling girlfriend in her arms, Naruko leaned down to give Ino a searing kiss. Soon their tongues met, and their intense kissing carried them slowly into Naruko's bedroom. During the journey to her bedroom, Naruko had let up on her Ki, so now Ino was pushing back for dominance in their kiss.

Reaching her bed, Naruko pushed Ino back onto it. Ino fell onto the bed, and as she raised herself up by her elbows, Naruko blasted her with that powerful Ki again. Trapped in place again, Ino's body shook with desire. Naruko slowly approached her girlfriend, and then bending down reengaged their kiss.

Naruko let her Ki subside, and soon Ino's tongue was vying for dominance against her tongue. As the two girls passionately kissed, they helped each other disrobe. Soon down to just their underwear, Ino arched her back so that Naruko could unhook her bra.

Naruko abandoned Ino's mouth and nibbled her way down Ino's chin to her neck. There she nibbled and lightly sucked along Ino's neck. Ino let out a soft moan, as Naruko applied light suction to the crook of her neck. Continuing her way down, Naruko trailed kisses across Ino's chest. Soon she made her way to Ino's breasts. There she kissed the flesh around Ino's nipples. Ino felt her nipples tighten as Naruko used a hand to massage one side, while using her tongue to glide across the other. Nibbling around Ino's nipple, Naruko finally gave it some attention, by lightly biting it, much to Ino's pleasure.

A panting Ino put her hand on Naruko's shoulders, and pushing downwards, just said, "more". Naruko in surprise looked up at her girlfriend. "Are you sure?" She asked.

Ino just nodded, not trusting her voice. They had never gone this far before, and while nervous, Ino's was too excited about the prospect to stop now.

Naruko while also slightly nervous, just nodded, and continued to trail kisses down Ino's stomach. Kissing along Ino's belly button, Naruko felt Ino's shiver.

Taking a breath, because this was a big moment, Naruko continued down. Trailing kisses all the way to Ino's panty line, Naruko paused as if to give Ino one more chance, but all Ino did was arch her hips so that Naruko could pull off her panties.

Slowly Naruko pulled Ino's panties down her thighs, revealing Ino's pubic hair, and then Ino in all her glory. Soon the panties were past Ino's toes, and Naruko made her way back to Ino.

Naruko starting at Ino's knee, slowly trailed kisses up her leg and inner thigh. Ino was shivering in anticipation by now. Naruko's mouth slowly crept toward Ino's center. Soon Naruko's tongue was teasing Ino's light golden pubic hair, and her breath made her quiver. Reaching her goal, Naruko lightly licked up Ino's lips. Ino in response just gripped the sheets tightly.

Naruko slowly let her tongue explore Ino's folds, and if the moaning Ino was doing was any indication, Naruko was doing a good job. Letting her tongue drift up to her button, Naruko gave it a soft lick under its hood. Ino just bucked in response. Giving that her attention for a moment, Naruko let her tongue carefully flick across it. Ino's thighs gripped her, as Ino continued to buck. Then Naruko focused her chakra to her tongue to use the tongue manipulation jutsu. Naruko's tongue began to extend. Using one part of her tongue to put pressure on Ino's clitoris, the tip extended to explore Ino's folds.

Naruko's tongue became too much for Ino, who began to shake in ecstasy. Knowing Ino would become too sensitive to continue, Naruko gave one last kiss to Ino's clit, sending her into convulsions. Naruko then climbed up to hold Ino in her arms, while she continued to orgasm.

After several moments, Ino's shaking subsided, though she was still rocked by the occasional aftershock. Lying in Naruko's arms, Ino slowly got her breathing under control.

"Wow!" Was all Ino could say.

"So you liked it?" Naruko inquired with a smile.

"That was incredible, much more so than I thought." Ino commented.

"I am glad." Naruko replied.

"What was that thing at the end with your tongue, it felt everywhere?" Ino wondered.

"Oh! That was a jutsu that Anko knew. It is called the Tongue Manipulation Jutsu." Naruko replied with a smirk.

"You will have to teach me." Ino just said in response.

"I will, don't worry. I just wanted to keep it a surprise at first." Naruko said in agreement.

For a while, both girls were quiet, Ino needing to recover and Naruko wondering about the step their relationship had taken. She was happy that Ino trusted her enough to be that intimate with her. Then Naruko's thoughts halted, as she felt Ino start nibbling at her neck.

Later that night, both girls lay in bed just holding each other, with soft smiles on their faces. Soon Naruko and Ino began to drift off, just before they fell asleep, Naruko pecked Ino on the lips.

Very little in Naruko and Ino's relationship changed after that night. Yes, the couple now felt more comfortable with a higher level of intimacy, but other than that, not much changed. Ino, who had been nervous about that step, was actually surprised about that. She just assumed something should change, but after thinking about it, realized that all that showed was how much she loved and trusted Naruko.

Knowing they had little time left before graduation, the four friends continued their schedules of training, but it seemed out of their class, only they really were serious about preparing. In fact, the only person Naruko thought who was truly prepared besides them was Shino.

Before they knew it, there was only two weeks left in the academy year. Remembering her conversation with Ino about talking with the Hokage, decided that when she went to use Mito's library today, she would also bring up team assignments. Hopefully she would be able to present her case.

Still, knowing that she had an important conversation with the Hokage didn't make it any easier to get out of bed, especially when Naruko was holding her very warm girlfriend in her arms. Ino was still asleep, but Naruko knew she need to get ready for the day, so she gave Ino a kiss, and gently shook her.

"Ino. I need to get up for the day." Naruko said softly.

"Hmm, but I am so comfortable." Ino moaned.

"Me too, but if you want me to talk to the Hokage about team assignments, then I need to get up." Naruko said, trying to reason with her girlfriend.

"Fine." Ino pouted cutely. "But you will have to make it up to me."

"I will. We can take the day off and relax afterwards." Naruko proposed.

"That sounds lovely." Ino said in agreement.

After that, Naruko was able to get out of the bed, and get ready for the day. Soon, Naruko was making her way to the Hokage's office. Once there, she went upstairs to say hi to the old man."

"Hey Ojiisan!" Naruko greeted.

"Hello Naruko. How are you today?" The Hokage wondered.

"I am doing great, but I actually wanted to talk to you before I get into my research." Naruko mentioned.

"Oh?" The Hokage asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk about team assignments." Naruko said.

"Naruko, you know those are decided by the academy teachers and the Jonin-sensei." The Hokage admonished.

"I know, but I know the potential of my classmates better than either the academy staff or the Jonin-sensei. So would you be able to just hear me out?" Naruko asked

Curious what she could reveal, the Hokage allowed her to give her ideas.

"Well, before I began, has any Jonin-sensei asked for a potential team?" Naruko wondered.

"Well, my son Asuma has asked for the Ino-Shika-Cho team of this generation, and Kurenai wants a tracking team with Hinata on it. So, she might also get Shino and Kiba" The Hokage revealed.

"Okay, that's what I feared. First, I think re-creating the Ino-Shika-Cho team is a horrible idea. I understand the history of the team, but guess what, so does every village who has fought them. That is just being predictable and lazy. If you think about that team as a weapon, then you are doubling up. What I mean, is that Shikamaru's skills equal the potential of a net, but so do Ino's. You might have Choji as a shield/hammer, but two nets and a shield/hammer aren't that effective. No, I think you need a net, a spear, and a shield. The best person for Shikamaru and Choji is Hinata. Even though I might also want her, that team makes sense. Plus, I know Kurenai's history with Hinata. Hinata needs to be pushed, and be forced to be the leader, but Kurenai will just coddle her. Likewise, isn't Kurenai a genjutsu specialist, because no one you mentioned for her team has that potential. No you should give her Kiba, Shino, and Sakura. That way you have tracking, tracking/trapping, and genjutsu potential. As for my team, we would be an all around team, that would include myself, Ino, and Sasuke. The reason I say the three of us, is the fact that with my chakra chains, Ino's ability with senbon, and Sasuke's Sharingan. We could bring down anyone. Then you factor in my sensing and tracking abilities, we would have tracking potential. Plus, with our overall combat abilities, we could be a frontline team. So, those are the three teams that I think should definitely be chosen." Naruko proposed.

"Hmm, that is a well thought out argument, but are you sure you don't just want Ino as a teammate because of your feelings for each other." The Hokage wondered.

"Look, I know our relationship might be a reason for us to fight to be put on the same team, but I honestly believe that we also have the best teamwork abilities. I have never once seen or even heard of Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji training together, where as Ino and I train together almost everyday, and now Sasuke has been joining us. Truthfully I don't know if I have ever seen Shikamaru really train. He is smart, however he is lazy, and that I think that will hurt team dynamic if Ino is on his team." Naruko explained.

"Well, while you make good points, I will still need to think about it." The Hokage finally said.

"That's all I can ask, and anyway I should get to my research." Naruko said.

It was out of her hands now, but at least Naruko could tell Ino that she tried. With that out of the way, Naruko went into Mito's library to get back into her research. She really hoped that she would be able to put together a key to Anko's cursed seal by the end of the year. Naruko figured that was about how much time it would take before she could decode everything.

The last two weeks until the academy exams went by at a snail's pace. All they were covering in the academy was review work. She really hoped the final exam was worth all this effort. By the time exam day came along, Naruko was about to tear her hair out, but finally the last day of the academy was upon them.

Walking to the academy for hopefully the last time, Naruko met Ino outside, as was their tradition. Giving each other a hug, the two girls went inside to find seats for the exam.

The graduation exam was to consist of three parts. The first part was a written exam, the second was a physical exam, and finally the third exam was on ninjutsu.

Everyone was quiet when Iruka-sensei passed out the exam. Looking down at her paper, Naruko almost fell out of her chair. It was so easy. It was almost like they were begging people to pass, she bet even if she was the worst student in the classroom, Naruko could get some answers right.

After acing what was a laughably easy written exam, the physical was even easier. All one had to do, was race through an obstacle course and then pass an accuracy test.

Soon, Naruko was waiting for her name to be called for the Ninjutsu exam. Really hoping for a challenge, Naruko was chomping at the bit, by the time Iruka-sensei called "Uzumaki".

Walking into the exam room, Naruko saw both Ayumi-sensei and Iruka-sensei would be overseeing this portion.

"Alright Naruko, for the Ninjutsu portion of this exam, please make at least three Bunshin to pass." Iruka-sensei.

In shock, Naruko looked around, finally feeling like she was under genjutsu, Naruko raised her hands to make a sign, and said "KAI".

"Umm, what?" Iruka-sensei said confused.

"Sorry, I was dispelling the genjutsu you must have used, because I thought you said to make three bunshin to graduate." Naruko said.

"I did." Iruka-sensei said sweat dropping.

"Are you kidding me? Bunshin? I could do that before I even entered the academy. Fine." Naruko said, and with no signs or smoke, three perfect bunshin of herself came into being.

"Oh wow, no signs or smoke, you pass!" Ayumi-sensei said.

"Congratulations, here is your forehead protector." Iruka-sensei said passing over the symbol of her new status.

Bowing, and thanking her teachers, Naruko took her new forehead protector, and still with a little surprised at the ease, made her way outside to wait on Ino.

Ino joined her outside a few minutes later, wearing a smile and her new forehead protector.

"Congratulations Ino!" Naruko said with a smile.

"You too!" Ino replied.

"Still, don't you think that was really easy?" Naruko wondered.

"Who cares? We are done, and are Shinobi!" Ino cheered.

Sighing, but getting into her girlfriends mood, the two girls hugged each other, and then went to join up with Ino's parents.

Meeting up with Inoichi and Akane, the two girls were both given hugs and congratulations. Finally starting to get into the proper mood, Naruko let Ino drag her away from the academy grounds for a party.

After a nice night, and a sleep over at the Yamanaka's house, the two girls made their way back the academy for team assignment. Both girls were praying that Naruko was able to get through to the Hokage.

"I really hope the Hokage listened to you." Ino said with a little nervousness.

"Me too. I don't want us to be separated. Especially if we are going to be placed on lame teams." Naruko said in agreement.

Soon both girls found their way into the academy for team assignment.

Waiting on Iruka-sensei, Naruko looked around the room at the future comrades she would have. Sweat dropping when she got to Sakura though, because the girl was chanting. "True love" over and over again. Looking over she almost laughed at the grimace on Sasuke's face.

Finally Iruka-sensei walked in to their class for the last time. As Iruka-sensei started a long speech on what it means to be a Shinobi, Naruko sort of tuned him out. She was praying with all her might that the Hokage listened. Finally Iruka-sensei started the team assignments.

Listening as he went through the teams, he finally got to her name.

"And Team Seven will be Naruko Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Ino Yamanaka." Iruka-sensei said before Naruko and Ino's cheering interrupted him.

Sweat dropping but continuing on Iruka-sensei announced the next teams, "Team Eight will be Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sakura Haruno. The final team of the day will be Team Ten, which will include Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Hyuga, and Choji Akimichi. Now after lunch, you new Jonin-sensei will be by to pick you up. Good luck, and I want you to know it has been a pleasure to teach you all."

With that Iruka-sensei dismissed them for lunch.


	15. Chapter 15

Lunch had been two hours ago, and the newly minted Team Seven were the only ones left in the classroom. The other former students were long gone, with each new sensei picking up their new teams.

"Argh, this sucks!" Ino exclaimed. "Do you think he forgot about us?"

"I really doubt a Jonin-sensei forgot about us. Maybe something important came up, or this is a test. Either way, we should wait a little while longer." Naruko proposed. "But if he doesn't come soon, we should make his life hell, the first chance we get."

"Hn. This is such a waste of time." An annoyed Sasuke grumbled.

"Well, it can't be that much longer." Naruko hoped.

However much to their frustration, Naruko was wrong, and the new team continued to wait.

"So, what do you think about the teams that were created?" Ino wondered with her head lying on her desk.

"Well, I think each as a lot of potential, but only if they push themselves. For instance, if Hinata takes charge of her team, and forces them to train, then it would be good for all of them. It would give Hinata training in leadership, someone with a subtle hand could push Shikamaru, and Choji will be around someone that he can comfortable around. As for Sakura's team, well that team has Kurenai as a sensei, and she is a serious Kunoichi, who could maybe set Sakura on the right path. Also, Kurenai is a genjutsu specialist, which is right up Sakura's alley. Overall every team has serious potential, but with the other two, motivation of some or all members will determine how far they go." Naruko explained her thoughts.

Laying her head back on the table, Naruko was about ready to go to sleep, because so far they had been waiting over three hours. Just when she was about to scream in frustration, she sensed a strong but heavily suppressed presence. In fact, the only reason she noticed the presence at first was the emotions she could sense walking toward them.

" _Hmm, this must our sensei. With his level of control over his chakra, he feels like a Jonin."_ Naruko thought to herself. And with that, lifted her head off the desk. Looking toward the door, she waved to get her teammates' attention. All three were then staring at the door when a greyed man walked in.

" _Hmm, alert."_ Was Kakashi thought, while looking at the three potential Shinobi, but aloud he just said, "My first thought of you is, you are boring."…"Meet on the roof." And with that he used shunshin to disappear.

"Ahh, that's it. Three hours and nothing!" Ino shouted.

"Well, let's get to it." Naruko sighed.

Soon, the three joined Kakashi on the roof. When all four were relaxing on the roof, Kakashi looked around, said, "Good, now that you are here, why don't you tell me about yourselves."

"Umm, what do you want to know? We all know each other, so can you go first?" Ino asked.

Pointing to himself, their new sensei blandly said, "I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…"

Learning nothing, the three sweat dropped.

"Hmm, Blondie you go first." Kakashi announced.

"Umm, okay. My name is Ino Yamanaka, and I like Naruko, my friends, and flower arranging. I dislike it when people abandon friendships for stupid reasons….As for dreams, well to stay by Naruko's side, and for hobbies, well, I like training and finding rare flowers." Ino said in introduction.

"Good, now you Sunset." Kakashi said.

"Okay. My name is Naruko Uzumaki, and I like Ino, my friends, and learning new things. As for my dislikes, I don't like it when people are needlessly cruel, and also when people don't try….For my dreams, well, I have three. One, I want to stay by Ino. Two, I want to be Hokage. Three, I want to create a world where chakra is used to bring peace and prosperity instead of death. My hobbies are creating new techniques and Fuinjutsu research." Naruko announced to everyone.

" _She has grown up interesting. I wonder though, are those two a couple?"_ Kakashi thought to himself, and then pointing to Sasuke, said, "Okay, it's your turn."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, and I guess I like training. For dislikes, I guess the girls who chase me. My dream for the future is to finally have peace and revive my clan. I don't really have any hobbies." A surprisingly open Sasuke said, much to Naruko's pleasure.

" _Interesting, he doesn't seem as focused on vengeance as he file stated."_ Kakashi thought.

"Okay, now that everyone is introduced, I want to tell you that starting tomorrow, the four of us will have a special mission. It is a survival test, and by survival I mean as Shinobi. Because I will say this, of all the graduates, not everyone will stay Shinobi. In fact, many will either return to the academy or washout completely." Kakashi announces to a suddenly quiet group. Well, quiet except for Naruko.

"Ha, I knew it. I thought that graduation test was too easy. So what's the deal?" Naruko asked.

"Glad you asked, because I want you to meet at the training grounds tomorrow at 5:00AM. Also, I should advise you not to eat breakfast, because you will just throw up. Now you are dismissed" Kakashi stated, and then disappeared in a shunshin.

"Guys, he is just trying to scare us. I say eat breakfast, come tomorrow prepared, and no matter what show Kakashi that this team deserves to stay together." Naruko stated with enthusiasm.

"Hell Yeah, we are going to kick ass!" Ino shouted in agreement.

Sasuke just smirked in agreement.

"So, let's get some good rest, and then meet up fresh tomorrow. If anyone wants to join, I am going to get some ramen." Naruko announce to the group.

"Sorry, but unfortunately I have to eat with my parents so that I can tell them about my sensei. You guys are welcome to come though." Ino said.

"Normally I would, but I think I am going to take tonight easy." Naruko replied.

"I think I am going to call today early as well." Sasuke said.

"Alright then, have a great night you two." Ino said.

With that the three new teammates went off in separate directions.

The next morning Naruko grumbled as she woke up extra early to meet her new team for the exercise that Kakashi planned to put them through. Disregarding Kakashi's advice, Naruko fixed herself a hearty breakfast. After eating, the girl made her way toward the training grounds, where she bumped into Ino along the way.

"Hey Ino. Are you ready for today?" Naruko asked her girlfriend.

"I think so. I mean, if you think about it, we are much more prepared than any of the other potential Genin." Ino said.

"That is definitely true, and with the three of us, we can take anything Kakashi can dish out." Naruko stated with enthusiasm.

Their conversation continued as the young couple walked toward the training grounds. Soon the two girls came upon their designated team training area, where they saw that Sasuke had already arrived.

Greeting each other, the three Shinobi performed some light stretches to get ready for the challenge that Kakashi might present them. However 5:00 in the morning came and went, and still there was no sign of Kakashi.

After thirty minutes, Naruko looked at her fellow potential Genin, and said, "I really hope not, but Kakashi being late might become a regular thing."

"God, I really hope not." Ino sighed.

Soon, though it became apparent that Kakashi was not going to show soon, so Naruko decided to sit down to relax.

"Guys, I think we should relax. Getting stressed about his tardiness might be a tactic that Kakashi will use against us." Naruko proposed.

Soon, the three were sitting down against a tree. After a few minutes, Naruko heard some shifting, and looked over. Ino was scooting closer, and when she was close enough, Ino rested her head on Naruko's shoulder. Smiling down at her girlfriend, Naruko wrapped an arm around her.

Talking softly to Ino, Naruko said, "Hey why don't you get some rest. I can keep my senses open for our wayward sensei."

Humming her agreement, Ino just shifted a little and then closed her eyes. Soon the girl was fast asleep.

Naruko and Sasuke kept a silent watch, and hours later Naruko sensing Kakashi approaching, lightly shook Ino awake.

Ino was stretching the sleep out of her body, when saw Kakashi come into view.

When he got closer, Ino asked, "This being late isn't going to be a regular occurrence, is it?"

Kakashi in reply just said, "Sorry, while coming here this morning a black cat crossed my path, and I had to back trace my steps through the village to shake off the bad luck."

Sweat dropping, the three Genin hopefuls just looked at their sensei.

Getting up the new team approached Kakashi to find out there task today.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what are we doing today?" Naruko wondered.

"Ah, I am glad you asked, because it is simple. You see I have these bells here." Kakashi said, pulling out two bells. "Your task is for each of you to acquire a bell before the timer goes off."

"Umm, there are only two bells and three of us." Ino said pointing out the obvious problem.

"Well, so there are only two. That just means that one of you will go back to the academy, while the two who succeed will become my students. So, good luck to the two of you strong enough to acquire a bell."

Startled the three hopefuls just looked at each other, before Naruko sighed and said, "Well, I am going to go guys, good luck." And with that started to turn away.

"Oh? And where are you going?" Kakashi wondered.

Looking at Kakashi, Naruko simply said, "I won't earn my Genin rank at the expense of a friend. And anyway, the academy while boring, will be ease to pass again."

Shocked for a moment, Kakashi just eye smiled, and said, "Well, I guess you two won't have to compete for a bell. Still let's see if you can earn one."

Startled, Ino looked at her girlfriend who was strolling away, and said, "NO! I won't let Naruko quit to take her place. I will go back to the academy too." And with that, walked to join her girlfriend.

Turning toward Sasuke, Kakashi said, "Congratulations, looks like if you can impress me, you get to become my apprentice. Now that those two are out of the way, we can begin."

Looking down with clenched fists, Sasuke just turned away to join his friends.

"Why are you leaving? You can stay." Kakashi wondered.

Looking back over his shoulder with a glare, Sasuke said, "I am not like him. I won't betray my friends."

Smiling, Kakashi watched as the group made their way out of the training ground. When the three Shinobi were almost too far away to see, he used shunshin to appear before them.

Startled the three stopped.

"What now?" Naruko wondered. "We already gave up, do you need something?"

"Just to let you know, that you PASS!" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

With wide eyes, the three new Genin just looked at Kakashi to explain.

"You see I have failed every other team, because they weren't able to put their teammates above themselves. They would fight only for themselves. You three put your friends above your future. You see, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Kakashi explained.

Naruko and Ino smiled as they look at each other, while Sasuke just smirked.

"Follow me." Kakashi said, leading them over to a monument stone. "On this stone are the names of the heroes of our village. They are the ones who sacrificed their lives for the village."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Kakashi said, "Congratulations, because from now on we are Team Seven, and we will take missions together starting tomorrow. However, before I let you three go for the day, I want to evaluate your abilities. To do that, I want to see the three of you try to get the bells anyway."

Kakashi then led his new team back to the training ground to see their potential.

Letting the three new Genin plan amongst themselves for a moment gave Kakashi some time to think about his new team. _"This is the first team I have seen that has what it takes. Though Sasuke doubly impressed me. From his file you would think he would be the brooding loner. Even with the mention from the Hokage about how Sasuke had recently begun spending time with others, I didn't think he would be capable of putting others ahead of himself. The members of this team also were the top scorers at the academy, so hopefully that translates into some skill."_

Soon the three Genin were ready to show their new sensei what they were capable of, and with a loud, "Start" the three Shinobi were off.

Dashing forward, the three teammates began to weave through each other as they ran. Naruko and Sasuke launched shuriken at their sensei just as they passed in front of Ino. Ino meanwhile used the momentary blind to prepare senbon, and as soon as her two teammates passed, she threw them.

Kakashi drew a kunai, and then casually blocked the assault of shuriken coming towards him. It was then he saw the feint. Dodging to the side Kakashi narrowly avoided the senbon.

" _Those senbon were thrown at where I was going to be, not where I started, and Ino aimed at regions of my body that would temporarily paralyze my movements. That takes some talent."_ An impressed Kakashi thought himself.

As Kakashi dodged the three Genin blurred forward to engage. Naruko let Sasuke pass her and attack first. As the fastest, Naruko was better able to adjust to any openings that Sasuke might provide.

Launching a side kick at Kakashi's right side, the opposite of the bells, Sasuke hoped to provide an opening for the others. Unfortunately Kakashi back stepped instead of blocking. Passing behind Sasuke's kick, Naruko performed a powerful front horse kick aimed at Kakashi's diaphragm.

Raising his arms in a cross block, Kakashi was surprised at the strength of Naruko's kick. It actually slid him back. Naruko, continuing her momentum, pushed off the ground, and using Kakashi's arms as step, launched herself into the air. Airborne, Naruko whipped her heel around in a spin to kick at Kakashi's head.

Dodging backwards to avoid Naruko's heel, he was taken by complete surprise by the crescent battering ram of wind that slammed into upper body, flipping him back, head over heels.

As Kakashi flew back, Ino disappeared in a burst of Soru. Racing underneath the airborne man, Ino let loose two handfuls of senbon, targeting several pressure points in Kakashi's body.

Even surprised, Kakashi was still an Elite Jonin, and sensing Ino under him, he was able to twist to the side, avoiding the worst of the senbon attack.

Still, Ino was able to land two hits, one to the left shoulder blade, and another in the right hip. In the split second before Kakashi was able to remove the senbon, Sasuke used Soru to blur past Kakashi.

Standing after removing the senbon, Kakashi, now no longer underestimating his new team, raised his guard, only to see his new team stand down.

"Oh, giving up so soon? You were doing well." Kakashi stated.

"Nope, we were able to accomplish our goal." Naruko cheerfully replied.

Looking down, Kakashi was pleasantly surprised to see the bells gone. Looking over at Sasuke, he saw the boy smirking while holding the two bells.

With an eye smile, Kakashi said, "Good job you three, excellent team work. I am really impressed that you were able to grab the bells that fast."

"Speed was the key. If we took too long, you might have a better understanding of our abilities." Ino commented.

"You are right. I underestimated you three, and lost because of it. I will have more faith in your skills from now on." Kakashi said.

He was pleased with his team, but was also curious. Turning toward them, he asked, "I am curious about two things. Naruko, what was that wind attack? I didn't sense any chakra. Two, how are Ino and Sasuke so fast?"

"The wind attack was a technique I call Rankyaku, and you are right, it doesn't use any chakra. It is pure leg strength and kicking power." Naruko explained to an impressed Kakashi.

"Our speed is also a technique that Naruko taught us, that she calls Soru." Ino chimed in.

"Where did you learn those techniques? They are really impressive." Kakashi wondered.

"Well, I created them. When I was younger, I used to read a lot of manga, and I based Rankyaku and Soru off of techniques some characters could use in the story." Naruko explained.

"Well, how about I treat the four of us to lunch, and you can go over some of your abilities. That way I have an idea where to start teaching" Kakashi proposed.

Much to Naruko's dismay, the group didn't have lunch at Ichiraku; instead they went to Yakiniku Q. She was out voted, and Yakiniku Q had the advantage of more space.

After getting settled in the restaurant, Kakashi ordered, while everyone engaged in some small talk. Eventually the meat came out, and after placing some on the grill, Kakashi began, "Well, I am really glad you three are able to work together so well. Not only that, but it seems you are quite skilled. This means we can actually train in new techniques. Had you three been typical of the recent academy graduates, I would have been forced to start at the beginning, and also instill teamwork into you. Thankfully you three have taken the initiative, and pushed yourselves. I will be honest, I haven't been too impressed by the level of Genin coming out of the academy."

"How so?" Naruko wondered

"A lot of the standards were relaxed as part of a disarmament plan following the end of the third Shinobi war. Once the treaties were signed, the village wanted to relax the standard, so as to allow for Genin to have more of a childhood. This I don't have a problem with, but still the academy has relaxed it's training. For instance, in almost all previous generations of Konoha Shinobi, most Shinobi your age would be closer to Chunin. Hell, some were Jonin by your age." Kakashi explained.

"Wow, I wondered about the ease of the academy, but I thought it was to allow more civilians into the ranks." Naruko commented.

"That is part of it, but I am just glad you three are where you should be, not where the academy would have you. This way, we don't have to play catch up." Kakashi said. "Now, I have seen your taijutsu and teamwork skills, but where do your other skills stand?" Kakashi wondered.

"Well, Ino and I both have either Medical-nin level chakra control or better, and we can both use elemental ninjutsu and some genjutsu. I have also been training with Fuinjutsu, and I am a master level practitioner." Naruko answered for the both of them.

"I can perform both tree climbing and water walking, and I also can use fire ninjutsu. Plus recently I have awakened my Sharingan." Sasuke finished for Kakashi.

"Hmm, good, I am definitely happy with that level." Kakashi started, and then continued on, "I can definitely help you three improve your skills in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. You most likely have never heard of my title, but I am known as Copy-nin Kakashi, because I have copied over a thousand jutsu."

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke asked, "How have you copied over a thousand jutsu?"

"This is something you would have found out sooner or later, but when I was younger, I was on a team with an Uchiha named Obito. On a mission, my eye was ruined, and Obito had to save me. He died protecting me, but before he did, he gave me his eye." Kakashi explained, and then seeing the worry in Sasuke's eyes, continued on by saying, "I promise you, that I did not steal this eye. It was given to me in good faith, and in fact your clan knew about the transplant"

Sasuke simply nodded in response.

"However, this also means, that I can help you learn to utilize your Sharingan. While I am not an Uchiha, and therefore pay a higher chakra cost, I still have learned much about this eye." Kakashi went on to explain to Sasuke.

"I would like that." Sasuke simply replied.

With that, the new Genin team finished their lunch, and made their way out of the restaurant.

"I need to report to the Hokage." Kakashi said. "However, tomorrow we start missions, so rest up, and meet at the bridge near training ground seven."

With that, Kakashi used Shunshin to disappear.

Naruko, Ino, and Sasuke were left behind, and decided to enjoy their last days to themselves before their Shinobi career truly started.

Saying goodbye, Sasuke left with a wave to pick up some new ninja gear.

Naruko and Ino were left by themselves, and so decided to spend the day together.

"What do you want to do?" Naruko asked Ino.

"I am not sure, we are Genin now, so we should celebrate, but I don't have any ideas." Ino said.

"Well we could walk around the village, and on our walk we could stop by your family's flower shop to tell your mother the news." Naruko proposed.

With nothing better to do, Ino agreed. Walking around the village the two girls window shopped, but didn't find anything worth spending their money on.

Eventually they came to the Yamanaka flower shop, where they stopped in to tell Ino's mother Akane, the news.

"Hey Mom, guess what? We passed!" Ino exclaimed.

Giving Ino a hug, Akane said, "I am so proud of you. What was your test?"

"Kakashi tried to divide us by asking us to try and get two bells. He told us the team member without a bell would be sent back. Thankfully that couldn't divide us. Naruko here refused to participate, and Sasuke and I joined her." Ino explained.

"I am proud of you Naruko. It takes courage to give up your own desire for someone else." Akane said much to Naruko's embarrassment.

"I wouldn't put my desire to be a Kunoichi ahead of Ino's dreams." Naruko stated.

"That's why I trust you to take care of my little girl. Otherwise I wouldn't allow Ino to sleep over at her girlfriend's house." Akane said.

Blushing, Ino asked, "Mom, you know about us?"

"Ino, I am not an idiot. I have known about you two for years. Longer than your father in fact." She replied.

"How did you find out, and why didn't you say anything?" Ino wondered.

"A mother can tell when their child is in love, and I was waiting on you." Akane explained.

"I am sorry we didn't come to you about our relationship, but we didn't want to create any form of imposition with you and the clan." Naruko stated.

"Inoichi and I don't care about that. There are plenty of Yamanaka around, and you can always appoint one of them to be the heir in your place." Ino's mother informed them.

"So you don't mind that I spend the night at Naruko's apartment?" Ino wondered.

"Well, I trust you to figure certain things out on your own. Besides that, I would rather you know love before you take a life or in the worst case, lose your own. It also helps that in your relationship Naruko can't get you pregnant." Akane said with a smirk.

Relieved the two girls just gave Akane hugs, and then continued on their way. Ino and Naruko were both happy to have Akane's approval.

With that weight off their chest, the young couple grabbed an early dinner, and made their way to Naruko's apartment.

Ino it seemed wanted to consummate their newly approved relationship, and Naruko wasn't going to say no.

At the Hokage's office, Kakashi went in to give his report.

"So how did they do?" The Hokage wondered.

"Team seven passed." Kakashi announced.

"Oh, so they impressed you." The Hokage stated.

"The refused to fight each other for the bells, and Naruko actually tried to leave. When the others followed, I passed them. Afterwards I evaluated them, and I have to tell you, that I happy with their strength." Kakashi informed the Hokage.

"Good, I am glad, that Naruko's training has paid off. She has a lot of potential." The Hokage said with pride.

"I believe that. Did you know she has created several Taijutsu techniques that mimic Ninjutsu?"

"Yes, she mentioned them before. They sound quite impressive. Well, bring them here tomorrow to start missions." The Hokage said to Kakashi.

** Author' Note 1: I have read some reviews that worry that I am turning Naruko into a Mary-Sue, but Naruko isn't perfect. She is just a caring girl, who do to early childhood loneliness, has developed emotional maturity.

** Author's Note 2: The strength of my characters has also been a question for some, but honestly in the canon storyline, every other generation has been incredibly strong at a young age. If you check up on the ages most ninja achieved their ranks, you will see that most did so well before the current crop of graduates did. Kakashi, Itachi, and even Tenzo were all Jonin around Naruko's current age, and in the story I have made Naruko a genius that works hard. If she wasn't strong, the story wouldn't make sense.

** Author's Note 3: Sorry for the delay, but I have been really busy at work, but hopefully I can devote more time to this story.


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